Resident Evil: Light of Dark
by Chase Samson
Summary: Much like Leon Kennedy, Claire Redfield also endured a fate changing night in late September of 1998. With no word from her brother, Chris, Claire sets out to Raccoon City to find him. Instead, she fights for her life against the walking dead in an epic quest for survival and answers. This story is the other half of SINS OF THE CITY, which focused primarily on Leon.


DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO RESIDENT EVIL OR ITS CHARACTERS AND STORY ARC. FOR THE SAKE OF ENTERTAINMENT, I AM USING CAPCOM'S CHARACTERS FOR A HOPEFULLY, ENJOYABLE, READING EXPERIENCE FOR ALL OF YOU. ENJOY!

**RESIDENT EVIL: LIGHT OF DARK**

**Chapter One**

Why the hell isn't he answering his phone? I'd been trying to reach him for the past two and a half months. I've left him voicemail after voicemail after voicemail, and still nothing. Not a call back. Not a message saying, "I've been a little busy, Claire". Nothing. At first, I was just downright pissed with him, but when he hadn't returned any of my calls, I had started to become more worried than anything.

I slammed the phone down when I got Chris' voicemail again. It was six in the morning and I was wide awake. For the past few weeks, I'd been finding it hard to sleep, knowing that I hadn't heard from him. Since I was up, I decided to take a shower and get myself a hot cup of tea to help ease my nerves.

It wasn't like Chris not to call, even if he was tied up with work. Mom and dad had been worried about him, too. After hearing about the strange murders that were taking place in the Arklay Mountains, my parents were more than just a little edgy. Granted, they feared that something might have happened to Chris, but I knew better. My brother was as resourceful as they came.

But now, doubt was starting to ease its way into my mind. The last time I spoke to Chris was in July. Here it was now September, and I'd already missed three weeks of school. My parents weren't aware that I had been ducking classes, but I was too worried about Chris to give a damn about school.

I left Chris a message a few weeks ago, telling him that I was going to spend a weekend with him before my classes started, but he never got back to me. Maybe he got caught up with work, or maybe, he got caught up with Jill. I always suspected that he had a thing for her, but Chris always had a way of keeping his emotions under wraps.

Once September rolled around and I hadn't heard from him still, I made up my mind to pay him a little impromptu visit in Raccoon City. I hadn't gone back since we moved, but things couldn't have been that busy. Chris always made time for me, no matter what.

I decided that I was going to leave out tonight to head to Raccoon City. I didn't know why I waited this long. Maybe I was hoping against hope that Chris would call me back, but I suppose that was asking for too much. However, before I embarked on my trip back to my hometown, I had to drive up to New York and cancel my classes at NYU. My parents were so worried about Chris that it was easy to talk them out of me having to attend school.

While most other girls were into 'N Sync, group dates, and prom, I spent my free time ogling over motorcycles. For my eighteenth birthday, Chris surprised me with a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200, fully customized, with flames emblazoned on the gas tank. I always had a thing about flames in art because everything just looked cooler that way.

The freedom my cruiser gave me on the open road was always a rewarding experience. On my way back from NYU, I made a pit stop at Lizzy Felton's house. Lizzy was the only female friend I had since I moved here a few months ago. All the other girls thought I was too tomboyish to hang out with, but Lizzy didn't seem to mind.

She had the look of the typical popular girl, but she always treated me with respect. So what if she had a natural tan, golden blonde hair, and a perfect set of teeth? At the end of the day, we were just two girls, who were polar opposites, that just happened to be great friends.

Lizzy probably heard the roar of my engine as I cut across the road to her house. As I was setting the kickstand on the Sportster, she was coming out the door. She was wearing a tight pair of tight blue jeans and white blouse to go along with her even whiter teeth.

"Hey, Claire," she said. "You're back early."

I eased my helmet off as I looked at her. "I didn't want to waste a whole lot of time at school, so I made sure I was the first one at the registrar's office." I took another gander out her outfit. "Someone's looking rather spiffy! Going somewhere?"

"I've got a date with Tom Mankins later on tonight," she said with a bright smile. "How do I look?"

"Like a million bucks," I said glumly. "You do know it's only two thirty in the afternoon, right?"

"Of course I know that! You didn't think I was going to wear this old thing, did you?"

I was sure that she was.

I nodded and relaxed a little, letting the weight of the Sportster settle underneath me. Although Lizzy wasn't into motorcycles, she seemed to get a kick out me riding around on one.

I leaned back, closing my eyes, letting the sun hit me in the face a little. The warmth felt good as it grazed across my neck and trickled down to my collarbone.

"So what time are you leaving to head to Raccoon?"

My eyes opened up abruptly. "I'm leaving at dusk. If all goes well, I should make it there by nine."

"If I hadn't already said yes to Tom asking me out, I would have liked to come along. You could have given me the grand tour of your home town!"

A small smile snuck its way to my lips. "Believe me, Liz, you're not missing anything. Raccoon City has about as much excitement as a box of pencils."

She tried to stifle a giggle, but couldn't. "There you go with that weird sense of humor of yours. I love it though."

Every time I took off my helmet, my hair would always get in my face. I parted some of it behind my ear as I took a look down the road. I spotted Lizzy's older sister, Julie, coming up on foot. She had several books in her hand, so my guess was that she had just come from class.

Julie stopped in front of me, shooting me an odd look. "I thought you'd grow out of the whole motorcycle, bad girl thing by now, Claire. It isn't very ladylike, you know."

"I don't tell you to stop wearing those short skirts now, do I?"

She made a gesture like cat, pawing at me with an annoying grimace. "Feisty today, are we?"

"Julie, cut it out!" Lizzy butt in. "Why do you always have to be such a bitch to Claire?"

"Claire's a big girl. She can take it," she said. Julie continued walking towards the house as I watched her every step. As she reached the top step on the porch, she smiled crookedly over her shoulder. "Please do something about that catastrophe you call your hair. You look like a hobo."

My grip tightened so fiercely on the handlebars, my knuckles were turning white. It took everything I had to refrain from dragging her face in the mud. She had already slipped inside the front door before I could manage to say something back.

"Don't mind her, Claire," Lizzy said softly. "Julie's always been a grade A bitch."

I shook my head. "You're right. Anyway, I should get going. I'm going to get an early dinner before heading out."

"Let me know how your trip went when you get back, okay?"

"Sure thing. And you let me know how things go with Tom," I said with a wink.

I noticed her cheeks flush at the mention of his name. "You already know I will!" Lizzy hugged me and took a step back as I readied myself to start the bike up.

"Oh, Claire!" she suddenly said. "You should put your hair back in a ponytail. Keep it from getting in your eyes when you take off your helmet. Just a suggestion!"

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks," I said with a smile. Lizzy was a genuinely sweet girl, and although I always preferred having male friends, she was one girl I could seriously click with. "See ya."

I slipped my helmet back on my head and started the engine. After thrusting the throttle, the Sportster was ready to rock and roll. I gave Lizzy a thumbs up as I revved my bike onto the road. The sun was still high in the sky, and glancing at it through my visor, I felt myself becoming one with the road.

**Chapter Two**

In my humble opinion, my mom made the best leg of lamb this side of the Mississippi. With a savory blend of herbs and spices, mixed in with a sauce that she said was a family recipe, this meal always hit the spot. The wall clock hanging over the door to the den read 5:47 PM. In thirteen minutes, I'd be leaving out.

After dinner, I went upstairs to my room to change. Although fall had started only a week ago, it was still humid, and Raccoon City could get very hot. In my closet, I took out the vest that Chris had bought me last Christmas. On the back of it read MADE IN HEAVEN, and every time I put it on, it always made me feel safe.

I felt that maybe I would need it to make sure that Chris was all right, too. Wearing jeans for long rides proved to be uncomfortable, so I put on some shorts instead. Personally, I enjoyed having the air graze against my bare skin on the highway.

Heading downstairs, I kissed my parents goodbye, reassuring them that I'd only be gone a day or two, and that I'd be careful. As I mounted the Sportster, I took a long glance at the house as the sun set on the horizon behind it. With my helmet on and my stomach full, I turned on the ignition and hit the highway back home.

Cruising down the I-95, it took me less time to get back home than usual. I arrived in Raccoon City around 8:45 PM, but was kind of puzzled by the fact that no one was out. Granted, it was a school and work night, but even Denny's, the local bar, was unusually deserted.

I continued to ride down Alpine Street, spotting Emmy's diner on the corner. Chris and I would often eat here on his lunch breaks from work. Emmy's triple-decker cheeseburger was his favorite, and more times than not, he would tear through it with mind numbing speed.

I parked the Sportster in front of the diner, noticing that the lights were still on inside. Maybe Bobby was inside cleaning up, I thought. Bobby Meyers was the main cook at Emmy's. Forty years old with no wife or kids, he lived, ate, and breathed the diner life. It was my guess why the food was always so good here.

The sign on the door read OPEN, so I stepped inside. The air conditioning unit was on, but there was a foul smell in the air. Like a slab of meat had gone bad or something. I covered my nose and mouth with my hand, trying not to breathe in the growing rancidness.

The place was completely deserted. Not a soul in sight. I heard something coming from the kitchen, so my guess was that Bobby was back there. Walking closer to the kitchen, something caught in the corner of my eye by the cashier's area.

It was a pair of legs, strewn out from behind the counter.

Who could that be?

Not having seen anyone since arriving, naturally, I started to feel a little uneasy. Something about the place was off. Then I heard it.

Barely audible at first, but unmistakable.

It was a moan.

Not a pleasure moan. There was a backdrop of pain and gloom in the voice. And it was coming from behind the cashier's station. I swallowed the lump that was building in my throat, but forced myself to see what was going on. Maybe whosoever legs those were belonged to someone who had slipped, fallen, and had difficulty getting back up.

As I paced myself towards the cashier's station, the moaning was getting louder and more desolate. I made out the form of a man, lying flat on his back with someone else leaning over him.

From behind, there was no mistaking that it was Bobby. I recognized that bald head of his anywhere.

"Bobby? You scared the hell out of me," I said with a hint of relief. "Shouldn't you be in the back cleaning up? Emmy isn't going to be too happy when she opens up in the morning and the place is still a mess, you know!"

Bobby totally ignored me.

"Hey, Bobby! I know you heard me! Quit horsing around, would you?"

The irritating sound of someone smacking their gums as they ate came to the forefront of my mind, but not in the way that I had imagined. I didn't want to believe what I was seeing when I saw why Bobby hadn't heard me. There was blood seeping across the floor from behind the cashier's station.

Lots of it.

Bobby's raised his head up, as if he heard someone crash through the window. The moment he turned to look at me, I felt all my inner workings freeze. My mind couldn't compute the message to my brain that my eyes were sending it. It was too unreal.

His eyes were hollow and glassy, almost like a corpse. What's more, he had blood all over his mouth and shirt. His upper lip was missing, too. I was staring at his lipless grin for the better part of the past ten seconds. My eyes stole a glance down at the floor and that's when the shot really hit me.

The man Bobby had been leaning over had an enormous hole in his neck, where his throat should have been. Bobby had ripped it out.

Bobby started to stand up, but his gait was highly uncoordinated and clumsy, almost falling over. He reached out to me with outstretched hands, and the stench of death and decay hit me in waves.

Whatever was wrong with Bobby, he looked like he was beyond needing a vacation. The smell of death was getting stronger as he stepped closer to me, grazing his fingertip on my arm. It was as cold as ice.

I yanked my arm back wildly, trying to create some distance. His mouth opened and he launched himself at me, causing me to flinch. "Bobby, get back! This isn't funny! Don't get any closer!"

Bang!

Bang!

I heard gunshots being fired outside. _Since when did people just fire their weapons on the street?_ I fleetingly thought. Right now, I had bigger worries.

Like Bobby having that crazed look on his face that was scaring the shit out of me.

Bobby was in between me and the front door, but there was no way he was going to let me pass. He was approaching me as if he had no idea who I was at all.

I didn't know what was wrong with him, but I didn't want to stick around to find out. I turned to run out the back exit, and that's when the fear hit me in waves even harder than the stench.

Outside of the windows were several people, pounding their bloody fists up against the glass. They all had the same crazed look on their faces like Bobby. Hollowed, glassy eyes, and corpse like pallor. Their collective moaning and misery etched painfully on each lipless face.

I couldn't take it anymore. I made a break for the back exit. These people here were all crazy and I didn't want to think about what they'd do to me if they were to get their hands on me. Bobby was starting to creep up on me, coming within three feet. I pumped my legs and went to the back door.

It was locked.

_Shit!_

I threw my shoulder into it, trying to force my way out. The door was secured with a deadbolt, so I unlatched it and kicked the door open. As I made a move to run out, there was a gun pointed right at my face.

I couldn't make the person out right away, but he had an expression that had a steady mix of the same fear and confusion that I was feeling. He was wearing an R.P.D. Police uniform, but the full bodied version they gave to all rookie cops. I'd been around the police station enough times to know that much. I could hear Bobby's staggering footsteps getting closer from behind me, but I was way too scared to look back.

Then the cop's eyes lit up with unabashed intensity.

"Get down!"

I hit the floor faster than anyone could say, "Hasta la vista", and heard him fire a shot that plowed through Bobby's head like an ice pick.

As I looked up, the cop had his hand out to pull me off the floor. I took it, surprised by how strong his grip was. Looking at him, I noticed he was a little bit on the lanky side. "We can't stay out here," he said. "We've got to head to the police station. It'll be a lot safer."

Once I got on my feet, I took a glimpse back to Alpine Street, taken by how quickly the barren area had become brimming with people who have completely lost their minds.

Crossing over to the next street, I quickly recognized where we were.

"Come on! Let's go to Main Street. It's right up ahead!"

This guy didn't seem to know his way around, but he did bail me out just a moment ago. We spotted an R.P.D. police cruiser, just a few feet away. The window to the driver's side was smashed in by the butt of his gun and he quickly ducked inside. He immediately opened the door for me and I joined him. Without wasting another moment, he turned the key in the ignition and pulled off.

As he pulled the cruiser off the curb, he hit a few of the town folk with the car, send them up and over the roof. When I looked back through the rear view mirror, I was horrified to see them get back up as if nothing happened to them.

Something freaky is definitely going on!

With the town looking like something out of a horror movie, my thoughts shifted to Chris. What if Chris had become just like them? I pushed the ill reverie from my head, somewhat finding it ridiculous. There was no way Chris could end up like everyone else here. The image of Bobby was still fresh in my mind. He didn't seem himself at all and that was even worse than what I saw him doing to that other man: eating him…

The sound of static was fleetingly going through my ears, but I didn't pay it much attention. The silence in the car was far more comforting than what was happening outside. I couldn't wrap my finger around any of it.

"What is going on? I arrived in town and the whole place just went to hell."

A beat passed, then I heard the guy suck his teeth and pound his fist into the steering wheel. "Dammit! The radio is out!"

His frustration caught my attention. I looked over at him, getting a clearer view of his face. He was certainly young, maybe a year or two older than me. A little boyish looking for a police officer. In the dim light, the terse expression on his face was a stark contrast from the look in his eyes. He was just as clueless as I was.

"You're a cop, right?"

He took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at me. There was definitely a certain gentleness to him. He was even handsome, despite that godawful haircut. "Yup. First day on the job. Great, huh?"

I smiled back at him, but said nothing. I still found the experience overwhelming.

"The name is Leon Kennedy. Nice to meet you," he said.

"Mine is Claire. Claire Redfield. I came to find my brother, Chris."

Leon looked to be mulling something over in his head. "Chris? Is he a police officer?"

"Not exactly. He's a member of S.T.A.R.S.."

"What's that?"

"It's the Special Tactics and Rescue Service. An elite task force within the R.P.D.."

I watched Leon smile a little. He had a cute one. "Nice," he said. "So do you think your brother could give us a clue to what's going on here?"

I felt tension ripple between my shoulder blades. "That's what I hope to find out. I haven't heard from him since July."

Another beat passed and Leon became oddly quiet. I didn't know what he was thinking, but the expression on his face was grim at best. He let out a breath from his lips and shot me another warm look, before looking down at the dashboard. "Can you do me a favor? Check the glove box, please."

I returned his smile and reached for it. I wasn't the least bit surprised at its contents. "There's a gun inside."

"Better take it with you."

I felt the weight of the gun in my hand, pleased with how light it was. My time with Chris at the range led to me quickly recognize the weapon. "A modified Browning HP. Holds thirteen rounds, and packs a mean punch in the right hands," I explained to him, smiling.

I could tell by the look on his face that my answer was unexpected. It was what I was going for, anyway. I didn't want Leon to think that he had to protect me or anything. I wasn't raised to be that kind of girl.

"How'd you know that?" he said. His voice came out dry, but impressed.

"I'm sure you think I'm just a silly girl who can't defend herself, but I can assure you that I am more than capable."

Leon took the blow pretty well. "I didn't think that all," he said. "Hey, if you were able to survive out here, unarmed, that's got to count for something."

I sat back quietly, pleased that Leon wasn't as sensitive as he looked.

We were cruising down Gregory Avenue before Leon made a left on Williams Street. The glare of bright headlights reflected off the passenger side mirror. I blocked my eyes with my hand before looking back. Over my shoulder, I saw a tanker, coming behind us pretty fast. It could have been another person, whose mind was still right, trying to escape the mayhem going on. Maybe they were headed to the police station, too.

"I know this is going to sound kind of weird, but...do you have any gum?" he asked politely.

I didn't know why I thought he was going to ask me something perverted or something of that nature. Never one to be short on confidence, I knew that I had a fine pair of legs and knew that Leon was checking me out. Such a man.

Nonetheless, I reached into my pocket to get the gum. I always carried some with me when I got on my bike…

The same bike I left behind at Emmy's. How was I going to go back for it now? Chris would kill me!

Under the circumstances, I think Chris would understand. I fished out the gum. The pack was a little soft from being in my pocket for so long. "You're in luck. I have two left. Orange or grape?"

_Please take the orange! Please take the orange!_

"I'll take the grape, thank you."

_Dammit…_

I handed the gum to him, my body language mirroring someone who had just lost a bet. I really loved that grape flavor. The intersection that would lead us to the police station was coming up, so I started to ease up.

Then out from the backseat, one of the town folk lunged and grabbed Leon. The cruiser started to swerve as Leon tried to fend him off. I turned as far as my seat belt would allow, trying to keep the deranged man at bay. The look in his eyes was just like the one in Bobby's...

He was too strong for Leon to fend off with one arm, and we were closing in on a dead end. Leon got a firm grip on the wheel and spun the car around, slamming it back first into wall while driving the brake pedal into the floor.

To say that I was impressed with Leon's driving ability under pressure was an understatement.

The crazy man flew out the back window, taken by the velocity of the full stop. The back of his head smashed against the wall with a sickening thud. He didn't move anymore.

I let out a deep breath as I looked over at Leon. He was checking himself to make sure he wasn't hurt.

"Hey...you all right?" he said.

"Still in one piece." I took the Browning and slipped it into the waistband of my shorts. I smiled at him and Leon gave me an awkward glance for a moment before turning away.

_Did I have something in my teeth?_

That would be embarrassing.

I heard the sound of some thunderous force coming our way. The bright headlights of that tanker that was behind us was coming our way, full throttle. As it came closer, the driver had the same deranged look in his eyes like all the others. It was obvious that he was no longer in control of himself. Or the tanker.

Leon tensed up in his seat. "That maniac is gonna ram us! Move!"

I reached for the release button of the seatbelt, getting it off quickly, but the buckle snapped up before I could move, and hit me right in my breast. It hurt like a bitch. Breath caught in my throat as I stifled the urge to yell. Nonetheless, I knew getting crushed by that tanker would do more than just hurt.

I was also relieved that Leon missed all of it.

Leon and I jumped out of the Cruiser from either side as the tanker crashed into the dead end with incredible impact. Moment's later, the fuel tank exploded, knocking me down to the ground with a powerful shockwave. I hit the ground hard, scraping my elbow on the pavement, but I was mostly unhurt.

A giant ball of fire blocked my view of Leon, but also caused me to break out into an intense coughing fit. I had breathed in too much smoke.

"Claire? Claire, are you okay?" Leon's voice was barely audible, but I made it out.

"I'm...I'm okay, Leon," I said with a cough.

"Head to the station. We'll meet up there."

"All right," I said. "You be careful!"

With a renewed sense of urgency taking over, I turned around and took off running. This side of town was saturated in crimson flame, limiting the number of places I could move. The sweltering heat of the streets was only an afterthought compared to all the crazy people wandering them.

Nonetheless, if I wanted to find Chris, I had to keep going.

Although Leon was much closer to the station than I was, I had a bad feeling that this was only the beginning of things to come.

**Chapter Three**

Running through the streets of Raccoon City had once upon a time been a fun thing to do. Now, I was doing it out of necessity. With these people crowding each block, chasing me for whatever reason, I couldn't stay in any place too long.

Taking the long way to the R.P.D. Building, I had to use my wit to run around the town folk. I couldn't shake the smell of death, no matter where I went. It was everywhere. Every time I came across a group of them, it was as if they were drawn to me. Never did I see them try to attack each other.

The cars parked along Sensabaugh Place were used as launchpads for me to navigate the streets quicker, hopping from car to car. That strategy kept me one step ahead of them. Every door I tested so far led to a dead end. Either I was faced with more of them, or was blocked by the raging fire consuming the city.

My legs were starting to ache with fatigue. I wanted to take a moment to stop, but if I did, it might have been the last time I ever did. I couldn't afford to stop.

Evading them was becoming a bit more difficult. When I reached Foster Terrace, their numbers seemed to had tripled. I suddenly found myself surrounded. Performing a quick ballistics inventory, I counted only five rounds left. Surely not enough to get by them.

In the corner of my eye was a dead end street. I saw a light on, coming from one of the stores. I quickly ran for it, barely making it past the wall of them that was being set up. Breaking into a full on sprint when I got into the clear, I rushed for the door, praying that it wasn't locked.

My prayers were answered.

Once I got a handle on the knob, it turned easily, and I forced my way inside, slamming the door shut behind me. Glass shards and empty shell casings were littered all over. My breath had caught in my throat, and I knew if even for a minute, I had to take a breather.

Wiping the sweat dripping from my brow, I stepped closer into the store. Almost every shelf was broken into. The sound of my boots crunching on the broken glass fell into the backdrop once I heard the rack of a weapon being pulled behind me.

"Freeze!"

A man's voice ripped through my ears like a chainsaw, bounding me into the one spot on the floor. His heavy footsteps moved in closer and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

"Put your hands above your head and turn around...slowly."

I did as he instructed, putting my hands up. After taking in a deep breath, I turned to face him. From the look on his face, he looked to be in an extreme panic. A bit on the portly side, his thinning brown hair was matted to his head as he kept his weapon trained on me. By all accounts, he looked like the typical, Midwestern man.

"Who are you? What are you doin' here?" he said.

"Please, don't shoot. I've just come here to look for my brother, that's all."

The cocking of his weapon sent shockwaves through the store. As my eyes scanned around, I realized that this was a gun shop.

Then he suddenly relented. The tension in his massive arms seemed to disappear. He even gave me a tired smile. "Oh," he said. "Sorry about that, babe. I thought you were one of them."

_Them?_

"What the hell is going on in this town?" I said as I slowly put my arms down. "What's happened to everyone?"

He walked passed me, to the door, locking it from top to bottom. "I ain't got no clue, darlin'. By the time I noticed somethin' was wrong, the entire city was infested with zombies."

_Zombies? What the hell is this guy on?_

"You can't be serious."

"I wish I was jokin'. I didn't believe it at first, either, but there ain't no other explanation for it." There wasn't anything uneasy about the way he said it, which in turn, made me very uneasy.

"How could this have happened?"

"Like I said, I woke up one mornin', and the whole damn town went mad." He circled around me, going around the counter. As he went back there, I got a closer look at his weapon. A pistol-style crossbow. It looked like it packed a good wallop behind each shot. He pulled out an almost empty bottle of Scotch and took a swig. "The name's Kendo, by the way. Welcome to my shop...or what's left of it, anyways."

"I'm Claire Redfield. Nice to meet you," I said.

His eyes bulged as I said my name. He put the bottle down, looking at me oddly. "Redfield? You wouldn't happen to be related to Chris Redfield, would you?"

"He's my brother. I came to Raccoon City to find him."

"Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit!" he said. A huge grin formed on his face. "Chris is one of my favorite customers!"

Underneath the counter, he pulled out what looked like a schematic for a gun. I stepped to the counter to look at it. "Why are you showing me this?"

"I custom made that gun for the whole S.T.A.R.S. team. I call it the 'Samurai Edge.'"

From the look of the schematic, it was a heavily modified M92F Beretta. It could be adjusted to fire 9mm or .40 caliber rounds. A very impressive piece indeed.

"Why haven't you tried to escape?" I asked him abruptly. "This place is too dangerous."

"You're the first human I've seen in almost two weeks. The number of zombies grows with each day. I'd be worm food before I even made it half a mile."

As much as I hated to admit it, he was probably right.

"I'm not the only one left though. I met a cop. I'm going to meet with him at the station."

Kendo shot me a defeated look. "Suit yourself, but even if you do make it to the police station, there ain't no escapin'."

"I'd rather go there and find out then wait to die."

Kendo took another swig of Scotch before placing the now empty bottle down on the counter. He then let out a deep breath. "You're madder than a mosquito in a doll shop," he said, "but I ain't about to let you go out there with just that lil' pistol."

On the other side of the shop was a wall mounted safe. It was locked with a digital key pad and after a few button presses, he took out a bow gun that was very similar to his. Also in the safe was a sack of a bolts with shiny red tips. He laid them out across the counter and sorted them. Once I got a closer look, I realized that some of the bolts had blue tips.

"Take a look here, Claire," he said, waving me over. After I joined him, he said, "I'm givin' you my latest patent, the 'Dark Knight'. This crossbow here fires two kinds of bolts. The red ones are explosive. Try not to stand too close to the target when usin' them. The blue ones are Nitrogen bolt, capable of freezing a target on impact. If I were you, I'd use these only if I had to. Otherwise, you just hightail it outta there!"

He stretched out his arms with the crossbow and I took it. In my hands, it felt very light and was also fitted with a shoulder strap. I looked at Kendo in his eyes, and despite looking like he hadn't slept in a while, he gave me a caring, almost paternal look. "Thanks, Kendo."

"You're welcome, darlin'. Now go on and meet your cop buddy. Don't you worry about ol' Kendo."

I didn't want to leave him behind, but he seemed resigned to go down fighting instead of trying to escape with me. At the same time, I couldn't force him otherwise. Judging by the hollow look in his dark eyes, he'd seen too much to live with.

Slinging the crossbow over my shoulder, I gave Kendo a hard look. He smiled weakly before nodding his head. I walked over to the back of the store, unlocking the back door. Watching him load more bolts into his own crossbow, Kendo looked as if he were ready to make his last stand.

Pushing the thought of leaving Kendo behind out of my head, I walked out the backdoor, immersed in the darkness of the alley. The trash cans were strewn about, with cockroaches scattering themselves everywhere. After stifling the initial cringe from seeing the giant insects, I continued moving until I came across Raccoon Square.

Back before the city had become mad, Raccoon Square was a cool place to hangout. My parents, Chris, and I, would often come here to have our family luncheons. To us, it was like celebrating the holidays every week. All types of restaurants, from sushi, to Indian cuisine. The Hyoshibara Sushi Palace was my favorite place to eat. Out in the front of the restaurant was a beautiful fountain of a dragon spouting water in a flame design, but it was the elegantly colored fish that captivated me. Sometimes, I'd stick my hand in the water, enjoying the feel of them swimming through my fingers.

Oh, how things have changed.

The fountain was still there, but now the water had long since stopped running. The fish were all dead and carried with them a perverse smell of decay in the putrid water. What was worse was the crowd of five or six zombies, gang eating a corpse. It was a disgusting sight, but left me with a sense of emptiness, knowing what this place used to look like.

I quietly managed to sneak by them until I hit Shennesy Place. The R.P.D. Building was across the street, but Shenessy Place was blocked off by a heap of car wreckage. I couldn't get over it. To the side of me was a bus with the backdoor slightly ajar. I managed to pry it open and was instantly hit by a waft of decay. There were bodies in almost every seat, many of which were decomposed beyond recognition.

Covering my mouth and nose with my hand, I carefully trudged through the bus. As I approached the front door, I felt something grab at my ankle. My heart froze in my chest. I looked down to find a mutilated zombie hand wrapped around my boot. Then all of a sudden, that was when the other bodies on the bus started coming around and moving.

I was totally freaked out.

Kicking the zombie hand off my ankle, I scurried to the front of the bus and kicked the front door open before any of the zombies could grab me from behind. In the corner of my eye, I spotted the giant gate at the front entrance of the police station. I made a break for it once the zombies started spilling out of the bus like ants.

The gate was nearly rusted shut, but with every bit of effort in me, I managed to open it enough for me to squeeze through. The zombies were on the other side, scratching and clawing at me. Any slower and they would have gotten me for sure.

I turned around to look at the police station. Many of the windows on the first floor were boarded up and glass shards were everywhere. I walked to the front door and gave it a push. The main hall was devoid of any zombies. The smell of death was absent, too. I walked in, trying to remember my way around.

From my visits here with Chris, the main hall was usually much busier than it was now. There wouldn't even be any place to stand around without someone knocking you over. Normally, Linda Feldman would sit at the receptionist desk, fielding calls. I always felt bad for her. She was always bombarded with work, and never really had any time to fix herself up. Dawning the ageless, seventies librarian look, Linda was long overdue for a makeover.

Now, I presumed, a makeover was no longer a concern of hers.

Continuing onward, I walked over to the double doors to the left. As I went through them, I followed the path laid out until I reached a hallway with several broken windows. There was an eerie breeze in the air and the chill made the hairs on my arms and legs stand on end.

From the look of it, the hallway was shaped like an L, and I was almost certain that something would jump out when I turned the corner.

Nothing.

On the floor, I spotted two bodies. One was that of a police officer, sans the head. The other wasn't even human.

As I stepped closer to it, I felt bile come up my throat and into my mouth as I looked down at some skinless creature. I was thankful that it was dead, but whatever this thing was, looked downright scary. On each of its arms was a set of claws that would put those of a tiger to shame. It was hard to see exactly what it was at first, but when I got even closer, I cringed once I realized that this creature's brain was on the _outside_ of its head.

I forced the image of the dead creature out of my head and continued on through the hall. The next door led me to another hallway. The windows here were all boarded up, but it didn't make me feel any safer. A door to my right was marked CONFERENCE ROOM. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

There were about two dozen classroom desks, either turned over, or broken. Almost every one of them was doused in blood. The back of the conference room caught the attention of my wandering eyes. There was a painting of a nude woman, being hung, mounted on the wall.

Who in their right mind would put some crap like this in a police station?

Its presence here launched an uneasy feeling into the pit of my stomach. This was a place of law an order, not a damn art gallery. No one in their right mind would quantify that painting as art, anyway.

Not finding anything of use in here, I left the conference room.

**Chapter Four**

After dropping a few zombies, I headed upstairs to the second floor, when I heard the scream of a young girl. I raced up the stairs and caught a glimpse of her back as she squeezed through a door. Behind her was another zombie and I dropped it without much difficulty.

I went through the door she escaped to, but there was no sign of her.

_Who was she? How did she get in here?_

She looked very young. It amazed me that of all people, she managed to survive longer than the others.

Since I was already on the second floor, it was a good time to head to the S.T.A.R.S. office. Maybe there, I'd find out where Chris was. The door was unlocked and I went inside. The place was a mess. Like it was hit hard by a hurricane. Files were scattered all over the floor and desks. Chris' desk was right across from the door. I didn't find anything useful. Not a note. Not an address. Nothing.

I suddenly felt that maybe something did happen to him. Having not heard from him since July was all coming full circle. Our beloved town was now the city of the damned. Whatever had caused this epidemic destroyed not only my family, but countless others.

No, Claire! Don't think like that! Chris is out there somewhere and I've got to find him!

Disappointed that I was unable to find anything else, I decided to leave and look for that little girl.

Beep!

If I had to pee right now, I would have wet myself. The moment I reached for the doorknob, the fax machine went off. The beep was so loud that my ears were still ringing seconds afterward. I walked over to the machine, eying the fax that just came through.

It was for Chris...

As I read the fax, it was forwarded to Chris by Jack Hamilton, the head investigator from Internal Affairs.

**Mr. Chris Redfield**

** Raccoon City Police Department**

** S.T.A.R.S. Division**

** As per your request, we have conducted our internal investigation, and have discovered the following information:**

**Regarding the G-Virus currently under development by the Umbrella Corporation.**

**So far, it unconfirmed that G-Virus even exists. We will continue to investigate this front, but it does not appear likely that any Umbrella officials will cooperate with our investigation.**

**Regarding Brian Irons, Chief of the Raccoon City Police Department**

**Mr. Irons has reportedly received a large sum of funds in bribes from the Umbrella Corporation over the past five years. He was apparently involved in the cover up of the mansion lab case, along with several other incidents, in which Umbrella appears to be directly involved.**

**Several years ago, Mr. Irons was arrested on the suspicion of rape, on two counts, while he was a student at Raccoon North University. As a result of the charges, he was court ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation. However, he was eventually released due to the circumstantial evidence involved. His high academic standing has also been well documented, forcing his release.**

**In accordance with departmental guidelines, I am not at liberty to release to you the source of any information which I receive. However, much of the information I have received, although presumably accurate, is from a source whose identity is currently unknown to me. I have reason to believe that the source is someone within the R.P.D., but I cannot be certain until I have conducted further investigation.**

** By all accounts, please be advised that Brian Irons is considered an extremely dangerous individual, so exercise extreme caution when dealing with him.**

** Jack Hamilton**

** Section Chief**

** Internal Investigations **

** United States Federal**

** Police Department**

Even after reading the fax, I still couldn't believe it. What did Chris get himself involved in? What was the deal with the mansion lab? Why didn't he ever tell me any of it?

A thousand questions were coursing themselves through my mind, yet I didn't have a single answer for any of them. From memory, I didn't recall Chris ever saying much about Chief Irons, other than the fact he thought he was an arrogant asshole. I didn't think he could have known anything discovered by this Hamilton guy, anyway.

What I wanted to know was why Chris reached out to Hamilton in the first place. I was no cop, but even I knew that cops never snitched on each other. Irons had to be involved in something terrible.

I folded the fax up and slipped it into my pocket. I would have to show this to Leon. Right now, I had to find that girl.

There was another door, around the corner, that the little girl must have run through. The moment I stepped through the threshold, I had a gun pointed at my face.

I was so glad that Leon wasn't a trigger happy idiot.

"Claire! You made it!"

"Believe me, it wasn't easy getting here," I said. Leon was carrying some new hardware in his other holster. Some small shotgun. A refreshing site, knowing that he was still holding up. Then I remembered why I ran through the door like a bat out of hell. "I hope I'm not imagining things...but did you see a little girl run through here?"

Leon's eyes lit up a little. "Yeah, you just missed her. Do you know who she is?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't, but I've got to look for her. It's way too crazy for her to be all alone. While I do that, try to find us a way out."

"That's without question," he said. Leon then reached for a radio clipped to his belt and stretched it out to me. "Before I forget, take this radio. If something comes up, we can keep in touch."

I took the radio from him. "Sure thing. I'll contact you as soon as I find the girl."

"Good," he said. He then reached inside of his vest, and pulled put a green leather book. The moment I saw it, I knew what it was and who it belonged to. As I reached to take it from him, Leon's face suddenly became sullen. "It doesn't look like we'll find Chris here, after all."

I ran my fingers over the fine leather. I knew that after reading it, I'd know more about where Chris was and what happened here. I just couldn't bear to do it right now. Fighting with the emotions was harder than killing zombies.

"I should have known that I wouldn't find him here. It's not like Chris to just up and leave without telling me. Whatever happened must have been something really terrible."

"When you get the chance to read his last entry, you'll understand everything."

I felt my emotions starting to swell up in my chest. I needed a moment to step back and think. I shook my head and left Leon behind. He didn't say a word and I was thanking him in my mind for it.

**Chapter Five**

Navigating through the maze of deadly hallways was nerve racking. I couldn't imagine how that little girl managed to stay alive, unarmed, no less. I managed to make it back to the main hall and went through the door on the opposite side. The central office was here, so it was only fitting that it be overrun with zombie cops.

Luckily, there was enough space to navigate through the huge office without having to fire a single round. There was a door at the rear of the office and I walked through it. There were two zombie cops roaming aimlessly here, but I had to drop them because they were blocking my path to the door at the top of the stairs.

There was a thick plume of smoke leaking from underneath the door. As I pulled it open, the smoke burst out, forcing me into a coughing fit. I used the hem of my vest to cover my mouth and nose as I fought my way through the smoke.

Down the hall was a broken down door, and from what I could see, the source of the smoke. There was an intense heat coming from that direction and as I stepped through the door way, there was a massive fire in the corridor.

What looked like the remains of helicopter had lodged itself in between the wall and another door beside it. There was no way, I was going to get through there. With no other choice but to turn back, I went down the corridor and continued down the adjacent one. The smoke wasn't as thick here, and I got a good view of the outside from the windows.

Hundreds of zombies, trying to force their way into the police station, from all angles. If Leon and I didn't find a way to get out of here soon, we wouldn't be leaving at all.

I started to go back when I saw something coming towards the building in the sky. The moon casted a blend of light that hid it well at first. Then I saw it break apart into smaller pieces, coming towards the windows at incredible speed.

The closer they came, the more I wanted to see what they were. It wasn't until I saw the dead eyes and flailed wings that I realized there were crows flying towards me.

And they didn't look like they were going to stop.

Instinctively, I ducked down to the floor. I was showered with broken glass when the crows broke through the windows. I scrambled to get to my feet to get some distance, when all I heard was the flap of their wings, followed by their malicious caws.

If they could smash the glass like that, I didn't even want to think about what they could do to me. Barreling through the exit, I gave myself a moment to get some fresh air in my lungs. I needed to find a way to put that fire out.

I headed back down to the central office and perched on the far side wall was a fire extinguisher. The only problem was that there was a whole team of zombies in front of it. I didn't have nearly enough ammo to take them down, but I did have some explosive bolts. Unhooking the crossbow from the strap, I steadied it in my hands after loading in a red-tipped bolt.

Let's see how much _umph_ this thing has…

I made sure that there was a reasonable enough distance between me and the zombies before I let the bolt fly. Once I had the middle zombie lined up, I fired the bolt and watched that single arrow blow the entire crew of zombies apart. I ducked into one of the smaller offices to avoid having zombies guts splattered all over me.

The coast was clear and I ran to grab the fire extinguisher before the other zombies got bold. Kendo totally lowballed how powerful these bolts were. Out of curiosity, I counted the remaining ones in the sack.

There were only four left, along with five of the blue-tipped bolts.

_Whatever was blocked off by the fire had better been worth it…_

The urge to pee had come over me and I had to go really bad. Naturally, taking any time out to use the bathroom wasn't as important as finding the girl, but at this rate my bladder was going to disagree with me.

I needed to find a "safe" place to pee. The bathrooms were totally off limits because none of them were lit. Down the hall from the central office was an empty room. When I opened the door, I realized that it was private office. One fitted with a bathroom.

That was lit.

Making a bee line for it, I checked to make sure that I was in the clear. Once I decided that it was safe enough, I used the toilet and quickly ran some soap and water over my hands before running out. I silently laughed at myself, concerned about not washing my hands more than the zombie apocalypse threatening Raccoon City.

As I stepped out of the bathroom, I heard something move. I didn't realize it at first, but there was another door in the office that was slightly open. I readied my HP, gripping the handle tightly. As I slowly came up on the door, I took a deep breath and forced it open.

The HP was immediately knocked from my hands. It was still pretty dark, but the blow was way too tactical to have been a zombie. I felt someone push me in the back and knock me down, hammer locking my arm. I struggled to get back up, pinned underneath my attacker.

"Quit moving around, I'm not going to hurt you." I heard a woman's voice say.

I was relieved that my attacker was still human, even though I was still defenseless. She then released her grip on my arm and helped me up. As I got up to my feet, she was wearing an R.P.D. uniform. Her hair was a fiery red and she had an intense look in her emerald green eyes.

"Who are you?" I said, rubbing my arm tenderly.

"I'll ask the questions," she replied. "How did you get in here?"

"I walked right through the front door."

"I see."

I was trying to get a read on her, but she was completely implacable. She was young, older than Leon and me, but I'd say maybe six years, tops. I could tell that she was assessing me in very much the same way. Her scrupulous eyes were watching my every move, every twitch. Like a real cop.

"You're Redfield's sister, aren't you? Claire, right?"

I felt like I had just got punched in the gut. "How did you know?"

"Redfield told me his sister had a mouth on her," she said, "plus you practically look like a younger, cuter version of him." She took a step back and closed the door to the room. "Sorry about getting the jump on you like that. I thought you were the Chief."

I didn't say anything, but the look on my face likely suggested that I had no idea what she was talking about.

"The bastard has been going around, hunting survivors down like game," she said tersely. "He even went as far as killing my partner."

"I'm...I'm sorry," I managed to say. I didn't know what else to.

"Don't be. The son of a bitch is going to get what's coming to him." She leaned up against one of the desks in the room, rubbing at her temples tiredly. She then looked me in the eyes, her features softening a little. "My name is Alexandria Carlsen, but everyone calls me Alex."

I closed the gap between us, leaning up on the desk beside her. "I wish we could have met under better circumstances, Alex. These days, I don't get to meet too many of Chris' friends."

"As far as I know, Chris doesn't have too many friends."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Haven't you heard?" she said pointedly. "The whole place went to hell because he and the S.T.A.R.S. team found out what was going on at the Arklay estate."

I turned to face her, determined to get some answers. "Tell me what happened. I need to know why Chris didn't tell me anything."

Her lips turned up into a crooked grin. "You got a smoke?"

"No."

"Well, I'm trying to quit anyway," she said with a shrug. "A couple of months ago, there were some strange murders going on in the Arklay Forest. Victims were being discovered eaten. The city went into a panic and the mayor assured everyone that it was just some demented psycho butchering anyone who crossed his path. So, he deployed the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team to investigate."

"Then what?"

"They disappeared without a trace. Then the Alpha team was sent in shortly afterward. Chris discovered that up at the estate was a laboratory, where all kinds of research was being conducted."

"What kind of research?" I said.

"Apparently, not the kind that can be done legally," she said with a smug smile. "I don't know the details, but it has something to do with bio-organic weapons."

So that must have been the mansion lab incident I read in Hamilton's report. Chris was there.

"Chris found out what happened," she continued, "and tried to alert the city, but he was reprimanded by Chief Irons. When Chris and the other S.T.A.R.S. members tried to tell the proper authorities about what happened, they were made to look crazy and untrustworthy."

I scanned her face. "Did you believe him?"

"Not at first," she admitted, "but I started to take notice of things going on that made me suspicious."

"Like what?"

"Take a look around you, Claire. Where could Irons have possibly gotten the money to pay for all of this shit? Those paintings and statues are rare pieces. There's no way he could afford them on his salary alone."

"He's been taking bribes," I said as more of a statement than a question.

Alex raised a curious eyebrow. "That would be my guess."

I fished out the fax I got earlier and handed it to her. After going through it, she let out a deep breath. "So it's true. Umbrella's been sliding money to him underneath the table. I can't believe it!"

"Jack Hamilton is doing everything he can to weed him out."

"When I get my hands on him, he's going to wish that Hamilton got to him first."

I couldn't quite understand why she hated Irons as much as she did. She did tell me that he had killed her partner, but I had a nagging suspicion that there was something deeper.

"Listen to me, Claire. It's not safe for you here. You must get out of the city while you still can."

"I can't go yet. There's a little girl running around the police station. I have to find her."

"Well, find her and escape!"

"What about you?"

A beat passed and I watched a tear streak down the side of her face. "I won't rest until I kill that son of a bitch!" She stood up on her feet and walked to the other side of the room. Out of a desk drawer, she pulled out a metal, disc looking object, with a bright red gem in the middle. "Here, take this. You can use it to escape through the sewer system. The door is in the Chief's office."

I took it from her and examined it. It was lighter than it looked, but I found its design disturbing. The motif looked like something straight from the Dark Ages.

"Where is his office?"

"It's upstairs, across from the waiting area. You can't miss it, but be careful. He might be scumbag, but he's a very _dangerous_ scumbag."

I could see now that there was no way I was going to talk her out of her crusade. Alex was determined to get payback at Irons' expense. "Fine," I said, "but vengeance isn't going to bring your partner back."

She didn't say anything, but she didn't need to. The look in her eyes said it all. Nonetheless, I left her to her own devices and continued on my journey to find that little girl.

**Chapter Six**

The evidence locker was just three doors down from where I met Alex Carlsen. Inside, I found my a six by six brick of plastique with a remote detonator. A little bit of C4 could literally take me places during these trying times.

I had gone back upstairs, fighting through the smoke with the fire extinguisher in my hand. I released the frozen carbon dioxide on the fire, putting it out in a matter of minutes. What remained was the skeleton of an R.P.D. helicopter. Inside, were the charred remains of the pilot. Judging by how badly he was burned, he had died a horrible and painful death.

The door next to the wreckage had been mangled so badly that I would need the C4 to blast my way through. After setting the blast cap into the plastique, I moved a safe enough distance away before hitting the detonator. The wrecked door fragmented into a hundred splinter fragments. Once the doorway was clear, I quickly paced myself inside. The doorway revealed a corridor with another door at the end.

I walked to the door, reading the bronze tag marked CHIEF BRIAN IRONS, R.P.D.. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I went inside.

The Chief's office was very well furnished. Aside from the numerous stuffed hides of game mounted on the walls, I could see how the Chief put his bribe money to use.

I stepped inside, barely able to cover my mouth when I saw Angela Warren, the mayor's daughter, lying on top of a desk, dead. I'd seen her many times on TV, promoting her father's campaigns, but to see her like this now was downright depressing.

I felt my stomach knot up as I edged closer to the desk. There was a chair behind it, its back facing me. It was hard to tell if anyone was sitting in it, but I had to know for sure. My boots padded against the hardwood floor of the office, the sound bouncing around the room.

The chair behind the desk suddenly swiveled, and again, I found myself with a gun to my face.

Chief Irons had clearly seen better days. His eyes were dark from lack of sleep, and his body had a strong, unpleasant odor. He looked totally out of it. He then lowered his weapon. "Oh my! I'm so terribly sorry," he said. His voice was eerily polite, which made me uneasy. "I thought you were another one of those...zombies."

I swallowed the anxious lumped that formed in my throat. "You're Chief Irons, right?"

"Yes! Yes, I am! And you are?" Before I could utter a response, he put his hand up. "Don't even bother telling me. It really doesn't matter. You'll end up just like all the others!"

Our eyes met on the dead body of Angela Warren. He let out a sigh as he rested the barrel of his gun across his temple. The guy was a real fucking nut job. "What happened to her?" I said.

"Oh, that's the mayor's daughter. I was given specific instructions to look after her, but as you can see, I failed, miserably." He leaned in closer to her, as if taking in the scent of his favorite perfume or something. "Just look at her...she was a true beauty. Her skin, nothing short of perfection. Like a mannequin, almost." He sighed again. "But, she will soon putrefy and turn into a zombie within the hour."

His oddly calm demeanor was really putting me on edge. "Did you kill her? She looks like she's been shot to death."

"Me? I would do no such thing!" he said incredulously.

A beat passed. "Well, is there anyway to stop it? The transformation, I mean."

Irons let out a long sigh as he relaxed in his seat. "In a manner of speaking, there is. Either by putting a bullet through her brain, or by decapitating her completely."

His sullen eyes slowly looked up from her onto me. He stared at me as if he were truly seeing me for the first time. I suddenly felt more uneasy. The burning sensation in my conscious of him undressing me with his eyes was uncomfortable. This guy was old enough to be my father, and no man his age should be looking at me like that. I backed up even further, but his eyes would not relent.

Chief Irons continued to stare for a few moments more before turning his attention to the deer head mounted on his wall. He seemed fascinated by it somehow. "To think that taxidermy used to be my hobby," he said with a defeated sigh, "but no longer!"

When I didn't respond, he leaned back into his chair again, resting his gun on the desk next to Angela's body. "Please, I'd really like to be alone now."

I nodded and slowly back pedaled my way out of his office. I wouldn't take my eyes off of him, not for a second. If the guy wasn't such a fucking psycho, I'd actually feel sorry for him. But if he really did do the things that Hamilton stated in his report, not to mention killing Alex's partner, he wouldn't get an ounce of sympathy from me.

Alex had given me this strange device to unlock the entrance to the sewers, but I didn't see anything in the Chief's office where it would fit.

I'd have to wait him out a little while, until I thought of something else. After leaving his office, there was another door that was hidden by the fire that I hadn't noticed earlier. As I put my hand on the knob to turn it, I pulled it back right away. It was still hot to the touch. With a well placed kick, I was able to force my way inside.

This room was used to store all the excess artwork the Chief had purchased. There were paintings lined up against the walls, covered in tarp. I felt a slight draft flow through the room. Up above, the canopy was open, making the room as chilly and dead as it looked.

As I stepped further away from the door, I heard the footsteps of someone running behind me. They couldn't have gone through the door because they would have burned their hands, too.

The shadows concealed the edges of the room from me. Now, I could hear the heavy breathing of someone hiding behind one of the boxes. I stepped across the room, tightening my grip on the HP.

"Don't move!" I said as I slid behind the boxes.

"Don't shoot!"

The voice was not that of an adult. As they came further into view, I let out a deep breath when it was the little girl I'd been trying to find. She'd been hiding out in here.

I immediately tucked the HP into my waistband, then reached for her. "Easy there, kiddo. I didn't mean to scare you."

Her eyes had been swollen from crying, but she seemed more broken than scared. I felt her arms wrap around my waist, hugging me tightly. Running my hands through her short, blonde hair, I dropped down to one knee and wiped some of the tears that were clung to her cheeks.

"You're safe now," I said. "My name is Claire. What's yours?"

She sniffled a little. "Sherry."

"Sherry. That's a beautiful name. Do you have any idea where your parents are?"

Sherry began rocking back and forth on her heels, as if she were nervously performing a monologue on stage. "They both work at the Umbrella chemical plant, out there by the city limits."

"The chemical plant? Then what are you doing here, Sherry?"

"My mom called, and told me to head to the police station, because it was too dangerous to stay at home."

I patted her tenderly on her petite shoulder. "From the look of things, I'd say she was probably right, but it's no picnic here, either. You had better come with me."

Sherry suddenly took a step back. Her eyes had become wide with panic. "I can't," she said. "There's something else out there. I saw it. Much bigger than any of the zombies, and it's coming after me!"

"I'm sure it feels like it might be coming after you, but don't worry. I'll protect you. I promise."

"Claire, I'm serious! I heard it call my name!"

Fear had a way of making the impossible seem real. There wasn't anyway any of these mindless creatures could have called her out by name. These zombies were as smart as a bag of ice. But the look in her eyes told a different story…

"It'll be all right, Sherry. If you come with me, I won't let anything happen to you, okay?"

Fighting the turmoil inside wasn't easy, but Sherry seemed to give

in. I took her hand and pulled the radio from my waist.

"Leon, I found the girl. Where are you?"

A beat passed until the static was broken. _"I'm near the sewer entrance towards the back of the building. Is she all right?"_

"She's fine. Leon, the Chief of the R.P.D. is on the loose, trying to kill of any survivors. Be careful. We'll find a way to meet up with you later."

_"Wait, you met him?"_

"Yeah, I did," I said as I pulled Sherry closer to me.

_"Did he try anything?"_

"No. That's the strange part."

_"In any case, keep your eyes open, all right?"_

"I'll buzz if anything comes up."

I ended the transmission with Leon and returned the radio to my belt. Looking down at Sherry, I could see something in her eyes as she peered up into mine.

"Who's Leon?"

That something was her curiosity.

"Leon is a friend of mine. Once we meet up with him, we're all going to find a way to get out of town, okay?"

"I hope so…"

**Chapter Seven**

My meeting with Chief Irons left me a little puzzled. From what I'd read and heard about him, he was as sadistic as he was crafty, yet when I met him, he looked like a man who had lost everything. No amount of money could buy him respite from the guilt I knew he was carrying inside. He was just as responsible for everything that had happened here as Umbrella was.

This led me to another thought.

What the hell is the G-Virus?

I had passingly read it when I went through Hamilton's report, but I didn't think anything of it at the time. Anything virus related didn't ever seem like a good thing to me, but the way Hamilton described it in his report, it seemed like something more than just what causes colds. Not knowing was eating at me, so I would have to somehow find a way to learn more about the G-Virus.

Walking through the dark halls of the police station, I was starting to notice that some of the doors that had been locked before were now open. My guess was that Leon went through them before me. With Sherry by my side, I had to be extra careful not to get careless.

Moving past the central office, I covered Sherry's eyes as we walked over the dozen or so zombie corpses on the floor. Towards the back, there was a doorway that I presumed led to the basement, according to a map of the building I picked up. The smell of mold and dust caught in my throat. Sherry coughed a little too. She held my hand tightly while I squeezed tighter on the handle of the HP.

Down in the basement, it was extremely dark. The lights would blink in and out, and judging by how tightly Sherry squeezed my hand, I knew that she was scared. The first door to my right was a weapons locker. I was surprised to find the door unlocked, given that it needed a key card to enter.

Inside, however, I didn't find any kind of ammo. The place was a dry as a bucket of sand. All but one of the lockers looked totally beat to hell. I opened the one good one and found a small side pack. My pockets didn't leave much room to carry extra ammunition, but this side pack would come in handy.

Placing the crossbow bolts into the pack, I put it over my shoulder like a backpack. This was much more comfortable way to carry around items. We stepped out of the armory and spotted a door spotted with flecks of blood. Sherry cringed when she read the room label.

"I don't want to go in the morgue, Claire," she said. "I'm scared."

"It'll be all right," I said, trying to reassure her. "Just stay by my side, okay?"

She reluctantly nodded her head, and held herself closer to me. The door to the morgue was locked, but I always carried my lock pick with me. Jittering the pick through the lock, I was able to get the door open. A blast of frosty air bit my face hard as I stepped inside. There were gurneys everywhere, but not a body on any of them. The morgue was a lot smaller than I thought it would be, but that didn't make it any less frightening. I gently pulled on Sherry's arm to leave, but then something pulled on my free arm.

Something wet and cold.

When I turned to see what it was, it was one of the skinless creatures I found upstairs earlier, only that this one was alive. I couldn't believe the sight before me as I witnessed its tongue, wrapped around my wrist like a belt.

"Sherry, run!"

When her eyes met the creature, she froze in a panic. I couldn't let this thing, whatever it was, do anything to her. Its tongue had a strong grip on me. From inside of my vest, I pulled out the S.T.A.R.S. issued knife that Chris had given me. With one swipe, I was able to cut the creature's tongue off me. A loud shriek polluted the air space in the morgue, but at least now I was free.

The creature continued to advance and I tried to get the HP out, but all I heard was Sherry scream. Then I felt my body get tackled to the floor. My head hit the floor hard and I saw stars for a blinding moment. The foul smell of the creature's breath crawled into my nose and I actually felt my arms get weak from it.

Sherry's screaming was getting louder, and I had to do something fast.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

I felt the creature's body slump off me and hit the floor with a resounding plop. Dead.

I looked up from the floor and saw a figure in the doorway with smoke coming from their gun.

"I see you found the girl."

Sherry looked up at the figure from the spot she'd been hiding and screaming from, but I didn't get the gist that she recognized them, either.

"It's a good thing I got here when I did, otherwise, you'd be just another dead civi."

Alex walked into the morgue, a .45 caliber handgun held tightly in her grip. Definitely not standard issue. She plucked me off the ground by the shoulders and helped me to my feet.

"Thanks," I said. Sherry ran across the room, coming back to my side.

"Don't mention it. Just glad I could help."

"What the hell is that thing that just attacked us?"

She took a quick look at it, as if she hadn't seen it when she put four holes in its head. "That 'thing' is one of Umbrella's bio-organic weapons."

The combination of those words seemed surreal to me. Apparently, the look on my face, coupled with my silence was her cue to continue. "The whole incident your brother discovered at the Arklay estate? The lab was used to create abominations, just like this one."

"Cre...create? But how?"

"The t-Virus."

"t-Virus?"

"It's a mutagenic compound that was created my Umbrella to create biological weapons. As far as I know, the virus' existence goes back as far as 1978."

"What?" I was in utter disbelief. "That was twenty years ago. You mean to tell me this kind of research has been going on for that long?"

Alex nodded. "Possibly even longer. The more I think about the hell that's happened here, the less I believe that it was an accident."

"What do you mean an _accident_?"

"The zombies. These freaks. There was an outbreak that occurred and all of this is a result of that."

Something didn't feel right about what Alex was telling me. "You seem pretty well informed, Alex. How do you know all this, anyway?"

I felt the air get sucked out of the room the moment she put her head down. There was nothing defensive about her posture. Only sadness and regret. "You wouldn't...you wouldn't understand, Claire! Let's just forget I ever said anything."

I stepped closer, grabbing her by the shoulders to square her even with mine. She refused to look me in the eyes. "I can't just forget what you've told me! My brother was involved in the discovery of this t-Virus, and I want to know why he's not here!"

Alex was as tough a woman I'd ever met, but something cracked inside of her. Something deep. Something dangerously personal. She suddenly raised her gun at me, but her hand was trembling terribly. "Just forget it!"

"Alex, I've had a gun pointed at my face more times than I wish to remember. Please, just tell me what you know. Tell me what happened."

As her gun continued shaking in her hand, tears were rolling down her cheeks, dampening her shirt. She hadn't even bothered to dry them. The pain on her face was a microcosm of what happened in Raccoon City: torn apart and ravaged.

Alex clicked back the hammer on her gun. "You're better off not knowing. You have to go before it's too late. Take the girl with you and get out of here!"

"Alex, listen to-,"

"I'm going to count to three. If you don't start moving, I'm going to kill you and her!"

"Alex, calm down..."

"One!"

"Alex, please…"

"Two!"

I took a deep breath as I took another stare into Alex's eyes. I didn't want to test her any further. Sherry's life was in the balance, too. I grabbed her by her hand and took a few steps back. "Okay, fine. We're going."

Sherry clutched my hand tightly. Poor kid. After witnessing all the horrors she had, the last thing she needed was getting blanked by someone sworn to protect her. It was wrong of me to even put her in that situation.

"I'm very sorry that it has to be this way, Claire. I really am."

I didn't say anything. I turned with Sherry in tow, and made my way back upstairs.

**Chapter Eight**

Alex's behavior had been on my mind on my way back to the Chief's office. What could she possibly have been so afraid of? It bugged me out to know that there was something so critical pertaining to Chris that she didn't want to tell me. I hated for secrets to be kept from me.

Why was she so adamant about me leaving?

I'd have to ponder that query later. Back inside of the Chief's office, Sherry was helping me to look for anything unusual where this metal disc thing would fit. Gone was Angela Warren's body, but so was the Chief. I had no idea where he could have run off to, but I was glad he wasn't here. Aside from the numerous hides in here, nothing really stood out. Not the cheap lamp next to the door. Not the miniaturized statue of Mayor Warren in the back corner. Not the ugly oil painting hanging behind his desk.

_Hmm_, I thought. Something about that oil painting was off. Sherry joined me by the painting, looking at it with wild eyes. "What is it, Claire?"

"Does anything seem a little odd about this painting?"

Sherry eyes studied the painting scrupulously. "Hmmm. It seems pretty plain compared to some of the other art I've seen in the building," she said with a shrug.

She was right.

This painting looked awfully amateur, and I knew that Irons had much better taste than this. I gripped the painting by the edges, but was surprised by how sturdily it was mounted. A thought occurred to me to run my hand over the canvas. It wasn't canvas at all.

It was plastic. I forced the painting part up, revealing a slot behind it. There was a digital keypad, and a circular shaped indentation in the wall. I was sure the metal disc that Alex gave me would fit here. Sherry took a step back as I mounted the disc in place. After a few seconds, the whole back wall eased to the right, revealing a secret room behind the Chief's desk. There was blood smeared along the floor, leading to a small freight elevator. My guess was that Chief Irons dragged Angela's body through here.

We were at the highest point of the elevator, so he could have only gone down. My intuitive instincts started to kick into high gear again. A foreboding feeling that something terrible could happen. I turned to face Sherry, who had an expectant look in her eyes.

"Sherry, I'm going to need you to stay here. I'll only be gone a minute, I promise."

I was expecting the world's biggest protest, but I got the opposite. "Okay, Claire. Please hurry back." Sherry leaned up against the wall, and sat there with her arms wrapped around her legs. She trusted me to protect her. To keep my word.

I wouldn't let her down.

"I'll be back. Just hang tight."

Sherry nodded and I pushed the call button for the elevator. In the pit of my stomach, I could feel the knots getting tighter. I had never felt so anxious, yet so motivated. I had too much at stake to allow my fear to control me.

The elevator arrived and I stepped inside. I watched Sherry watch me as I started my descent. Once I couldn't see her anymore, I concentrated on what I might find down here. Tonight had been one of many turns and twists.

I had reached the bottom of the shaft and was taken aback by how medieval this place looked. Like something straight out of King Arthur's castle. There were torches mounted up against the walls, providing the only source of light. I readied my HP and followed the tunnel. My boots tapped loudly against the stone floor, echoing in my ears.

The heat from the torches was causing me to sweat. It was fucking hot down here and the air was dreadfully thin. At the end of the tunnel was a door, sharing the same theme and motif as the rest of this chamber. Once I put my hand on the handle, I realized that it wasn't locked, so I reluctantly pushed my way inside.

An intense humidity almost suffocated me as I walked through the door. There were more torches in here and a few ancient looking tables. Irons was really one demented bastard. Everything about the room spelled torture chamber. Along the walls were all sorts of chemicals I couldn't even begin to pronounce, but the worst thing was seeing that giant hacksaw lying on the table.

The blood on it was still fresh…

From around the corner, I heard someone moaning loudly. My grip tightened on my HP as I continued to move in further.

To say that I had caught Chief Irons with his pants around his ankles was a total undersell.

He must not have heard me enter, but he was quick to pull his pants up when he realized he wasn't alone. I quickly cupped my mouth when I saw what he had done. His wide body had blocked my view at first, but on a table lied the body of Angela Warren. The bottom of her dress had been pulled up over her face, revealing her long legs, dangling of the edge of the table. And everything in between. When I had seen the blood running down her pale thighs, I gave Irons a stare that went beyond incredulous.

"You sick freak! You were fucking her, weren't you!?"

His face was calm. He didn't seem the least bit alarmed or embarrassed. "You had better watch that insolent tone with me, girl."

"Watch my tone? Are you fucking serious?"

"It appears that you have discovered my weakness for young women," he said as he turned to look back Angela's disrespected corpse. "You see, she wouldn't give me the time of day before, and even when I threatened to kill her, she vehemently refused my advances."

I was too shocked to speak. To find anyone, especially someone as highly regarded as Irons, having sex with a corpse, was completely off base!

"I must admit. I have totally underestimated your resourcefulness. I didn't think that you would have made it this far." He stepped closer to me. There was a dark, brooding look in his eyes that was frightening. "You'd be foolish to think I'd let you, or anyone, leave my town! Everyone's going to die! Mark my word!"

_He's fucking lost it…_

"Chief, please calm down," I said tensely. I slowly started backing up, but he kept advancing.

"Shut up!" His voice boomed throughout the chamber. He raised his gun, seemingly ready to use it. "Do you have any idea what's happened here? Those...those fucking monsters at Umbrella have destroyed my beautiful town! How could they do this to me after everything I've done for them!?'

"So the rumors...they're true, aren't they?"

"Girl, you couldn't possibly begin to understand any of it!"

I raised the HP, setting the sights right between his beady eyes. "If you've been working with Umbrella, then you must know about the G-Virus. Tell me what it is!"

In the corner of his mouth, I saw a hellish smirk start to take form. "You're a bold little bitch, aren't you?" he snickered. "Well, if you must know, it's the agent that can turn humans into the ultimate bio weapon. It's superior to the t-Virus in every way. William Birkin is the chief researcher involved in its development."

"William Birkin?"

"I'm sure you've seen his little girl running around somewhere...Sherry, isn't it?"

Time froze to a standstill. Everything was starting to all come together. Sherry's parents didn't work at a chemical plant. They were biological engineers. Her father had created the G-Virus, and Umbrella paid Irons to keep a tight lip on everything. The bastard was sicker than I thought.

"Umbrella has deployed several of their B.O.W.s to cover their tracks. A termination package of sorts," he said starkly. He continued coming up on me until I felt my back press up against the cold wall. Irons continued giving me that empty stare as he got closer.

"Back up, Chief! Don't make me shoot you!"

"Do your worst, girl, but if I'm going to go, I'm going to have a little fun before I take you with me!"

Irons cornered me with his size, and I couldn't get around him. I wrestled with him as he tried to pull on my clothes. The feel of his rough hands on my skin was far past uncomfortable. That bastard had no even ground when it came to forcing women into submission.

I wouldn't let him have his way with me.

I drove my knee into his ribs, and heard the wind shoot out from his mouth. As he staggered back, I aimed the HP on him and fired. He managed to dodge my shot.

I was readying another when I felt something underneath the floor rumble. It was like some kind of earthquake or something. Chief Irons was coming again, this time visibly angry. I was ready for him this time.

It was the monstrous hand that broke through the floor that I wasn't prepared for.

Chief Irons was pulled through the hole that was now in the floor. I listened to his screams of agony and noted that I didn't feel not an ounce of empathy. Then came the bloodcurdling noise of flesh being ripped apart. I flinched at the sound.

I was scared shitless. My legs did not want to respond. Whatever was down there surely made quick work of Chief Irons. I couldn't hear him anymore.

_Get a grip, Claire. You've got to keep your shit together!_

There was a dead silence coming from the hole. I needed to get back to Sherry. I steadied myself to head back out the door when something flew up from the hole, landing in front of me with a thud.

It was Chief Irons. At least, part of him.

I jumped back, startled by the presence of his torn torso. His legs were nowhere in sight. I felt the room start to spin when I saw his guts and spine dangling like a bloody mop head. A part of me wanted so bad to just throw up. My stomach couldn't knot anymore than it had. The other part of me willed me to look into the hole to see what was down there.

My curiosity got the best of me again. As I got closer, I saw the faint glow of some faraway light coming up through it. As I peered down, I spotted a huge catwalk. On the far side of the walkway was a ladder that led down to the sewer entrance. I also spotted Irons' legs...

There was no sign of the monster that killed the bastard. I had to go and get Sherry fast before it returned.

Grabbing the radio, I buzzed Leon to give him an update.

"Leon. Are you there? We're leaving."

_"Leaving? Those streets are still crawling with hundreds of zombies!"_

"It'll be all right. I've found a secret passage in the Chief's office that

Leads into the sewer."

_"That's too dangerous, Claire! He could be lurking down there, waiting for you!"_

I could sense the worry in Leon's voice. "I don't think Chief Irons will be giving anyone anymore trouble."

_"What?"_

"I ran into him again, and he tried to kill me. Before he got the chance, he was pulled down underground by some...some powerful creature. When I went down there, his body was torn in half."

The beat that passed led me to believe the gears were turning in his head. Leon would just have to mull over it for now. I had to get Sherry to safety.

"Follow us later."

_"Claire! Wait, wait!"_

I shut the radio off before Leon could give me a lecture. I would rather hear it after we made our escape from Raccoon City.

I stood up and started to head for the door. There was a curtain that covered the back portion of the room. I grabbed one of Irons' arms and dragged him behind it the curtain. I didn't want for Sherry to have to see the carnage set upon his worthless carcass.

**Chapter Nine**

Sherry and I made our way to the sewer entrance. I made certain to keep her line of sight from straying behind the curtains. No matter what she might have witnessed in this hellhole, she didn't need to see that.

The water here was dank, and Sherry made sure to remind me every chance she got. My clothes were starting to carry that stench of sweat with a touch of sewage. I didn't know how I was ever going to get it out. Sherry made certain to hold my hand tightly as we navigated through the sewers. The lighting was awful at best, but it was enough for me to see ahead. I was thankful that there weren't any critters or zombies lurking around. Without knowing what the exit looked like, I didn't even know which way to go. Above us, I could heard the smooth hum of the ventilation system. For whatever reason, the sound was soothing.

It was also distracting.

Had I been paying attention, I would have felt the slight tremor in the water. The small tremor turned into something like a whirlpool. One of the automated drainage ditches opened up and water started swirling around. The force was so strong, I didn't have a chance to tighten my grip on Sherry's hand.

"Claire! Help!"

I rushed to grab her, but the whirlpool was too fast, too strong. By the time I waded myself to it, the ditch had closed up, whisking Sherry down into the unknown.

The Raccoon sewer system was vast. Much larger than I ever imagined. The more I delved in it, the more I realized that Umbrella had an even bigger stake here than anyone could think to know of. The filtering equipment, the drainage system, even the giant fans overhead, were designed and installed by Umbrella.

What was an even bigger surprise were the growing number of human bodies I came across. They weren't ordinary civilians, though. More like some tactical strike team, maimed and killed in brutal fashion. I could still make out the sheer look of terror eternally frozen on their faces before they were done in.

What could have killed a group of trained, armed soldiers, so effortlessly?

In all of my thought, there was something I heard in the distance, coming from the impasse right in front of me. Something like a gunshot. A rushing stream of boiling hot water was coming down with such force that it was impossible for me to go through, but the shot seemed much closer. I continued trekking through the sewer, my body drenched again in sweat from the sweltering heat. To my left was a door that I wouldn't have been able to see from where I was.

It was heavy, but I managed to get it open. The stench of raw, unprocessed sewage hit me like a swift kick in the nose. There was a small cesspool in the center, with some strange looking platform that looked like it could be raised or lowered. The controls for it appeared to be on the other side. I walked around the cesspool, finding a small iron jack, resting on the service table. It had two ends, one square, the other hexagonal. Its presence here escaped me at first, until noticing that the controls for the walkway were manipulated using the jack.

The moment I went to grab it, I heard something coming up through the cesspool. My body tensed up immediately. My imagination was spinning wildly, expecting another vile creature to surface. I kept my hand trained on my HP as I turned around. The worst of my fears were put to rest when I saw that it wasn't some strange creature or zombie.

Climbing out was a woman, likely in her mid to late thirties, with bright blonde hair. She was wearing a long white lab coat and her body was shivering uncontrollably. I ran back across to her, but immediately took a step back after taking a whiff of the wretched scent coming off her. She looked at me tenuously through her weak and tired eyes.

"Who are you?" she said. "Wait! You're another spy sent here by Umbrella, aren't you? I won't allow you to have the G-Virus!"

"Calm down, lady. I didn't come here for any G-Virus!"

"Liar! Haven't you already done enough? I won't let you have it!"

"Hey, calm down," I repeated. "I don't know what you're talking about, I swear!"

She paused to study me, as if determining if I had a tell or something. The anger in her eyes remained, but her voice softened a bit. "Umbrella has taken everything from me. My career. My livelihood. My family. Everything!"

As I our eyes met again, there was something oddly familiar about them. Like I had seen them someplace before.

That was when it hit me.

The resemblance was beyond striking. Right before me was Sherry's mother, which meant her husband was William Birkin, the creator of the G-Virus.

"Not all is lost," I said. "Sherry is still alive."

At that moment, the wretched look of distrust all but vanished from her face. "Sh...Sherry? You've seen her?"

"She was with me up until a few minutes ago. We got separated, but I'm going to find her. I'm not leaving here until I do."

The tension suddenly returned, but was then quickly overtaken by something more ominous. "We have to find her quickly! William will be after her!"

"What?"

The look of despair on her face was more intense. "Listen to me," she said, breathing a shallow breath, " William was attacked in his laboratory by Umbrella's Security team. They left him to die after they had claimed the G-Virus sample."

I put my hand up, interrupting her to get my head around it. "Why would Umbrella steal the G-Virus? I thought you guys worked for them?"

"Don't be ridiculous! Do you really believe that Umbrella would allow William to continue his employment once the research was completed? They don't operate that way. Umbrella had become very distrustful of William, suspecting that he was going to sell the G-Virus to the highest bidder on the black market."

"Well, was he?"

She shook her head, weakly. "Honestly, I don't know, nor do I really care. The G-Virus was William's legacy, and I will support him, no matter what!"

Something about what she said still didn't make sense to me. "If you said that Umbrella left him for dead, then how could he still be after Sherry?"

"When William was attacked, he had been fatally wounded by multiple gunshots. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do to save him, but I tried to find help for him anyway."

"So what happened to him?"

"When I returned, William was gone. Right on the floor where he'd been sitting, I found an empty vial of the G-Virus. He had injected himself with it to stay alive."

Thinking back to what Chief Irons and Alex had told me about these viruses, they were capable of causing mutations within the host organism. I just wasn't sure the extent of how much.

"The monster that has been skulking around the sewers and police station is indeed William," she added. Her shoulders slumped inward as she entered a coughing fit. "He's...he's looking to implant her with an embryo. We mustn't allow that to happen!"

"Wait, what? Implant an embryo? Why would he do that to his own daughter?"

"Over time, the G-Virus destroys all upper brain functions. By now, William should have lost any memories he's had as a human. He's solely going on instinct now."

"But why Sherry?"

"Although his brain is in a feverishly primal state, he can still sense that Sherry's the most suitable host for reproduction because of their genetic closeness. Her body is not likely to reject his mutated DNA."

This was awful news. Sherry was all alone somewhere, with William stalking her. I had to find her and fast. Sherry's mother made a move to stand, but then quickly collapsed to the floor. She fell unconscious.

How the hell did she get here, anyway?

I looked up, barely catching a glimpse of a woman in red running on the catwalk above. It was only for a moment, but I had the feeling that she had been the reasoning behind Sherry's mother's sudden appearance in the cesspool.

Who was that woman in red, anyway?

I turned her over, and spotted the ID badge pinned to her lab coat. The name on it read ANNETTE BIRKIN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF UMBRELLA BIO RESEARCH DIVISION.

No wonder Sherry was such a desolate child. Her parents were far too into their research and studies to pay her any mind.

No matter. I'd be doing Sherry a favor.

Whenever Annette Birkin came around, I would have found Sherry and taken her far away from this nightmare.

**Chapter Ten**

After getting the lift up via the jack, I crossed over the cesspool to the other side. In front me was a door and it seemed the smell of sewage was even stronger behind it.

By now, I had worked up a bit of an appetite. Shooting zombies and running for dear life did a number on my stomach, but even as hungry as I felt, the smell of shit around me didn't make anything too appetizing.

Ignoring the pangs of hunger inside me, I went through the door and followed the corridor. After three left turns, I was finally at the end, where there was a dump for the garbage. This was where the smell was coming from. Everything from old pizza boxes to throwaway vacuum cleaners were strewn about.

There was a mucky feel to the place as I stepped in it. I felt that if I stayed in one spot too long, I would sink to the bottom, forever lost in a vat of detritus.

From the far side, there was a light moan. I climbed over a hill of crap and spotted Sherry, lying face down on a nasty heap of junk. I hustled to get to her, ignoring the rub of the garbage against my bare skin. When I turned her over, I felt an overgenerous amount of heat coming off her. Placing a hand to her forehead, she was definitely burning up.

I tilted her head up and she moaned some more. Her little eyes began to flutter open, unfocused at first, before recognizing me. She forced a pained smile on her face.

"You...you found me, Claire…"

"I told you that I wouldn't let anything happen to you. Do you think you can walk?"

Sherry struggled to sit up, but once she did, she was able to stand. She frowned when she realized she got her blouse dirty, but happy she was okay.

"Come on, sweetie," I said, "let's hurry and get out of here."

She grabbed my hand weakly, but she no longer looked afraid. "Okay, Claire. I'm ready."

I was still grateful that the sewers were clear of zombies and monsters. Sherry and I stood in front of the rushing stream of boiling water blocking the exit. I didn't know how I would get through here without getting scalded.

A control board rested on the wall to my right. There was a slot for a key that would turn the water off for ten minutes before turning back on. Sherry followed my gaze to the board and pulled her hand from my grip.

"Sherry, what are you doing?"

She looked up at me with a smile. "I can stop the water." She propped a hand up against the wall to lean against it, whilst taking off one of her shoes. Something fell out and hit the floor with a metallic ping. It looked like a key.

"Where did you get that?" I asked curiously.

"My mom gave it to me before I went to the police station. She said to keep it safe, and never lose it."

"How did you know the key was used for this?"

She smiled again. "How do you think I got to the police station in the first place? It was way too dangerous to use the streets."

Sherry's unorthodox penchant for survival no longer surprised me. What bothered me was her having to go through any of it at all. What kind of mother would allow her child to endure this hell alone? Annette Birkin should have been trying to get Sherry out of town, not hoarding her away for some creature to feast on later.

**Chapter Eleven**

I had to hand it to Sherry. She might have only been twelve years old, but she had the resolve of someone much older. Older than me in fact. Even now as we made our exit from the sewer system, she was leading the charge, directing me to what looked like a cargo area. There was a cable car that was suspended over a chasm that had to be hundreds of feet deep.

Any further and we'd be shaking hands with the Devil himself.

Sherry went over to the controls to activate the car. The lights came on like a Christmas tree, raining down on Sherry's face, further accentuating the youthful glow she had. Unlike the sewers, the air here was as refreshing as it had been since my arrival in town. I took in mouthfuls as I let my lungs get acclimated with air that didn't make me nauseous. Going over to the door, I gripped the handle and pulled it open.

It seemed that I may have spoken too soon about fresh air. Inside, were two badly decomposed bodies. Sherry covered her mouth to try to keep the horrid stench of death from invading her own lungs. If I had known that these bodies were in here, I would have tried to shield her from it somehow.

Realizing that it was too late, Sherry came inside behind me, making sure to steer clear of the bodies. From the look of them, they appeared to be some kind of soldiers. Mercenaries, maybe. The dull green and brown of their uniforms spelled hired guns. The controls for the car were up ahead, so I went over to them, sending the car over the chasm.

After ten minutes or so, we came to a stop. The door to the car opened automatically and I had the foreboding feeling that something was going to launch itself at us the moment we stepped out. I walked in front of Sherry, taking point in a sense. Luckily, the coast was clear.

"Look, Claire. We're at the chemical plant where my mom works."

I took a moment to survey the area. "I had no idea it was this far out."

This chemical plant looked like not a soul had walked its halls in decades. It was more of a dead factory if anything. Sherry took my hand and we walked inside. The machinery inside had layers of dust on them so thick, I could have written my name on them. As we went further in, the smell of death became more obvious.

Up ahead was the cry of the Undead. If not for the type of dangers they posed, their cries were actually kind of liberating. At least now, I knew what to expect. Sherry's hand tensed up over my knuckles, and I knew she heard them too.

"No matter what happens, make sure you stay right behind me, okay?" I said.

She nodded and kept herself close. With my HP in hand, I kept my finger steady on the trigger as I continued to advance. I made out four zombies ahead of us. They were dressed in maintenance clothes, and were heavily decomposed. I couldn't understand how they could still manage to walk after being wilted so heavily.

Nonetheless, I dropped them with shots to the head, killing them instantly. Chief Irons may have been a grade A son of a bitch, but he knew how to take the zombies down quickly. I guess in light of everything that had happened, he wasn't a total waste.

There were a few more zombies in the next corridor, and they fell just as easily as the last group. There was a ladder that led to an upper level, and I helped Sherry go up first. Upstairs was a small office. The desk was a flatbed of rust and grime, and had a weird smell to it. A blinking red light illuminated the back area. It was coming from a switchboard used to control the lift that went down to the research facility.

_Chemical plant my ass!_

The dead factory was nothing more than facade erected to keep any outsiders from getting too nosy. If I were to going to get more answers about the G-Virus, the secret research facility was the place to go next.

Next to the switchboard was a key with a red label on it marked DOWN KEY. From the look of it, the key was relatively new compared to everything else here. There was a slot in the switchboard for a key, but a closer look made me realize that it was the wrong key.

"Claire, if you want to go down, we have to use the board outside." Sherry informed me. I should have thought that she'd know.

"The surprises just keep coming, huh sweetie?" I said with a warm smile. "Let's get going."

Sherry took my hand again, and we made our way outside. In the middle of the grounds was a gigantic turntable, with a what looked like a small train car on top of it. Next to it was the switchboard, which Sherry recognized instantly.

"Over there!" She ran to it and inserted the down key. Within, moments, the lights of the switch board dazzled in the darkness. A loud foghorn sounded off above and Sherry and I both felt a slight rumble beneath our feet. "Let's get inside the car. The lift is going to start going down soon."

I followed her to the cart, but was suddenly put off by her gait. She was walking as if she were in pain, and despite the frigid coolness, was sweating profusely. Nonetheless, she opened the door and got inside. Once I got in, I found her lying on the bed in the fetal position, whimpering.

"Sherry, are you okay?"

"Claire...I...I don't feel so good." Her voice was terribly weak.

I reached to touch her head again and she was hotter than before.

_Oh shit! Could William Birkin have found her and implanted her with an embryo?_

"Sherry, I need to know if you saw the monster you told me about, down in the sewers."

She shook her head. "I don't really remember much after we got split up," she said. Her face had become red like a beet, and a sharp look of pain overtook her face. "My...my stomach hurts. I can't breathe…"

My worst fear had come true. Her father had indeed found her, likely when she was unconscious, and implanted her with one of his embryos. I felt a panic come over me as we made our way down to research facility. I didn't know what to do.

I took off my vest and put it on Sherry. She was in pain, but seemed to like the gesture.

"Wh...why are you giving me this, Claire?"

"To protect you," I said. "My brother gave that to me, so that I could feel safe when I was scared. Now, I'm giving it to you so that you don't have to feel scared, either."

Despite herself, Sherry smiled. "Thanks, Claire. You know, you're the only friend I've really ever had. Even though I'm an only child, my parents never spent much time with me, because of their work. I'm really happy that I met you."

_Why'd she have to go and say that…_

I felt the sting of salty tears coming to my eyes. I didn't expect her words to touch me as deep as they did, but the look on Sherry's face was priceless. She needed me as much as I needed to save her. I couldn't live with myself if I allowed anything to happen to her. But now that she had the embryo inside her, I felt the shadow of guilt hovering over me like a storm cloud. I couldn't protect her from implantation.

"I'm really glad I met you too, Sherry," I said, blinking back the tears from my eyes quickly. "When you're by my side, I feel stronger."

A beat passed and Sherry eyes were starting to roll backward. The fever was rendering her unconscious. Maybe there was something I could use to reverse the process down in the research facility. After all, it was where the damn G-Virus was made in the first place.

A loud thud on top of the cart shook me from my thoughts. Someone was walking up there. Someone huge. I made sure that Sherry was secured before I walked out. With her being in such bad shape, a renewed sense of vigor started coursing through me. I was going to protect her, no matter what I had to go up against.

The descent to the research facility was a lot longer than I thought. Almost ten minutes had gone by, and we still hadn't reached. I fleetingly thought about Leon, wondering if he was okay. I was reaching for the radio to buzz him when I heard something slicing through the air.

I hit the floor hard, barely evading a metal pipe that had seemingly been hurled at me with incredible speed. I looked up, finding a giant shadowy figure atop the car. My eyes focused in and I realized that it was something that was far past human. It had clothes on, but they were ripped to shreds. Blood had saturated all the fabric, but the giant eyeball rolling around in the shoulder of the creature was the real attention grabber.

_Claire, meet William Birkin_, I thought. He had undergone some horrific mutation that seemed to devolve him into something worse than a zombie. And he was coming right after me!

Birkin jumped down and landed hard on the floor before me. His left arm was reasonably human enough, despite it having grown in size, but his other arm transformed into some giant claw thing. And it just kept getting bigger…

With one powerful swing, Birkin unleashed a monstrous haymaker at my head. I rolled out of the way, then doubled back in an effort to get some much needed breathing room. For a monster of his size, he was impossibly agile. Birkin had to have been standing at ten feet tall, which made him a huge target.

I tucked the HP into the waistband of my shorts. Logic told me that Birkin would eat every last round, anyway. I needed to hit him with something with more kick to get him off my back. Unstrapping the crossbow from my shoulder, I loaded a bolt into the slide and pulled it back into firing position.

Birkin had other plans.

In one giant leap, he covered roughly twenty feet, bridging the gap between us in one bound. He was way too close for me to fire the bolt. I needed to get some more room. Birkin roared furiously before slamming his claw hand down again. I avoided the contact, but the sheer force of his swing was strong enough to knock me off my feet.

I hit my head on the railing, rubbing tenderly to get the pain to stop, but I didn't have time for that. Birkin swung again, but this time, his swing was wide and his claw got caught in the railing.

This was the opening I needed.

I barreled myself beneath his legs to get behind him. Once I was a safe enough distance away, I lined the sights of the crossbow up with his turned back and fired as he struggled to free himself.

Boom!

The bolt him square between the shoulder blades, and a pained roar erupted from inside him. Birkin dropped to one knee as blood was pouring out from the wound. But he was only down for a little while. I needed to hit him again. Sliding another bolt into the crossbow, I fired again before he had a chance to charge at me. I missed him wide to the right, but the concussive force was powerful enough to stagger him.

I was now down to only two explosive bolts.

Birkin was slowing down a little, but not enough for me to get comfortable. My mouth was starting to feel incredibly dry and my head light. I needed to get some water, and he was standing in the way of that. The need to end this confrontation quickly was my incentive. I took the last two explosive bolts, and racked them simultaneously into the crossbow.

His movements were less erratic and I knew that I had weakened him some. These shots would put him down for good. Birkin was setting himself to charge at me one more time, but two explosive bolts with his name on it, hit pay dirt and dropped him onto his back. He was wasn't going to get up anytime soon, but I wasn't going to stick around to find out.

Quickly stepping over his downed body, I went back inside the car. I hooked the crossbow over my shoulder and sat on the bed next to Sherry. She was still unconscious, and her fever was getting worse...

**Chapter Twelve**

Sherry and I had finally reached the research facility. I checked to see if Birkin was still down outside on the lift, but when I took a peek, he was gone. Just a massive blood spot where his body was. Inside, I was relieved. I didn't want to have to face that monster with Sherry in the condition she was in. As I stepped out of the car and onto the foyer, on the ground in front of the main entrance was UMBRELLA LABORATORY, written in giant yellow letters. In my mind, I would have taken it as some kind of warning not to go any further, under normal circumstances.

There wasn't anything normal about tonight.

With Sherry's unconscious body in my arms, I carried her across the foyer, into the security station, right across from me.

The room was incredibly tidy, and even smelled like an old car freshener. I set Sherry down on the bed, trying to make her as comfortable as I could before setting out to look for something to help her.

Towards the back of the security office were a row of lockers. They hadn't appeared to have been disturbed in sometime, so I opened them. The first had some old clothes and a small radio. The batteries had been removed and the cord was missing. Totally useless.

Closing the locker, I moved on to the next one. Inside was a stale, half eaten sandwich that looked more decrepit than any of the zombies I'd come across. However, towards the back of that locker were two bottles of water. I quickly reached for them and twisted the cap off of one, guzzling it down like I had just finished a ten mile run at full speed.

After running through it, I tossed the empty bottle aside and set the other down on the nearside table. The last locker was locked with a simple padlock. I fished out my lock pick and eased it off. My lips turned up into a deviant grin.

An M79 grenade launcher rested peacefully inside. I could tell by the intensity of its dull metallic shell, that it hadn't been used in quite some time. Why it was down here in a laboratory to begin with was beyond me. I took the damn thing no less.

It was lighter than it looked, which worked for me. I checked the breach, and found several shells loaded inside. SULPHUR GRENADE was etched onto the bottom of each shell. The launcher was crude by design, but against these creatures, it was as sure a bet as I would find.

I searched almost everywhere for a way inside the main lab, but nothing would give. Every door that was electronic was locked tight. Carrying around the grenade launcher was starting to become a burden, too. Although it was light, after a while, it felt like dead weight. That was when I'd realized that I was bone tired. The trip down into the facility was the most rest I had since arriving in town.

Everything ached. The balls of my feet had to be twice as big from all the running I'd done tonight. What I would do to remove these boots and take a load off. But I had to do something about Sherry's condition. I had left her behind for about an hour, but I knew I had to make moves before the embryo could pupate inside of her.

Walking through the Western Wing of the facility, I tried my luck with one of the doors up ahead. It wasn't electronically locked, but it wasn't going to budge, either. I put my shoulder into it a few times before it finally loosened. There was something heavy blocking the door from behind.

When I stepped inside, the sight was horrifying.

There were dozens of bodies, many of them cut open at the chest. The way they were disregarded was totally inhumane. The stench in room was a strong torrent of formaldehyde. I realized that it was a metal desk pinned behind the door, used to keep anyone from either coming in or leaving. My guess was the former.

I willed myself to ignore the smell as I crossed through the room. What kind of experiments were going on here? I thought. The way their chests were ripped open looked extremely painful. The wretched looks on the faces of the cadavers didn't do much to ease my anxiety. These scientists at Umbrella were all a bunch of sick bastards.

Towards the back of the room, there was a door that didn't look electronic, either. I rested my hand on the handle and the door swung open rather easily. There were computers lined up everywhere. As I stepped further inside, the overhead lights had suddenly come to life. The whirr of all electronic locks around me echoed throughout the facility.

_I guess I'm not the only one here…_

The tapping of keys came from the far side of the room. There was definitely someone here. I continued moving forward, making sure to step lightly on my aching feet to see who it was. As I quietly rounded the corner, I made out the back of someone in a R.P.D. uniform.

"I thought I told you leave, Claire."

Alex turned around, but made she made sure to block the screen with her body. "What's your deal, Alex? Why are you here?"

"Claire, it's too complicated. You wouldn't understand," she said, clenching her jaw tightly.

"Uncomplicate it for me then. I need to know!" I raised my HP and pointed it right at her face. "Now!"

Alex stepped up into the light, and then I saw it.

Her left shoulder was a bloody mess. The look on her face told a different story, but I knew she had to be in quite a deal of pain. She sat down tiredly in one of the seats, pulling a cigarette from her pocket.

"I thought you were trying to quit," I quietly said.

"The whole town's gone to shit, and you're worried about me getting a smoke?" She lit her cigarette and took a long drag. Despite herself, she offered me a warm smile. "Why don't you have a seat? I don't have much time, anyway."

"What are you talking about?"

She took another drag, this one longer than the last. "In case you're wondering what happened to me, I've been infected with the t-Virus," she pointedly said. "It's only a matter of time before I turn into one of them."

I felt the air get sucked out of my lungs. "How much longer do you have?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Could be a few hours, a few minutes. Who the fuck knows for sure..."

I lowered my gun. The desolate vibe I felt coming from Alex was a stark contrast to what I had witnessed in the police station. Now, she was resigned to her fate. "I followed you and the girl into the sewers," she continued. "I found the body of Chief Irons in that sick torture chamber of his...actually, I should say what was left of his body."

I remained silent.

"I thought I'd feel better that he was dead, but that hasn't quite been the case," she said, taking her final drag and stomping out the cigarette.

"Alex, you've been talking a whole lot, but haven't really been saying much at all. Why are you here? What's going on?"

She slid her chair out of the way, and now I could see the monitor. "Come take a look and see for yourself."

I moved towards the monitor and scanned the screen. It was a t-Virus research report, written by a scientist named Thomas.

Thomas Alexander _Carlsen._

My eyes widened and my heart felt like it had come to a stop. I took another look at Alex, noticing that she was much paler than she had been the last time I saw her. There were dark circles forming underneath her eyes, and she kept scratching her arm.

"He was my father," she said. "My father was one of Umbrella's top researchers. He had secretly been working on an antivirus strain to reverse the effects of t-Virus infection. When William Birkin found out, he realized that it could severely damage his position for more funding with the G-Virus, so he had my father killed."

"Chief Irons?"

She nodded.

"But if the antivirus worked, it could have saved thousands of lives that had already been lost."

"It's too late for that," she replied. Alex was getting ready to speak again when she started coughing vigorously. I rushed to her side, but she quickly pushed me away. "Don't get too close. I don't know when I'll succumb to the virus."

"Where's the antivirus? I can get it for you and reverse the infection."

"You can't save me, Claire. I'm finished." A stark look suddenly came into her eyes. "But you can do something for me…"

I placed my hand on top of hers. "Name it."

"If you happen to come across me in my transformed state, please don't hesitate to put a bullet through my head."

My words caught in my throat. I wasn't expecting her to say that. She continued to look at me with her hollowed eyes. "I'm not going to let it come to that. I'll find the antivirus. I promise."

"Don't worry about me. Save the girl and get out of this place."

"I can't leave just yet. She's been infected with a G-Virus embryo. I have to find the vaccine before it's too late."

She coughed again. This time, blood poured from her mouth. The t-Virus was spreading rapidly through her body. "You won't have much time. Go through my father's files and...and...and-,"

Alex was suddenly rendered unconscious, and collapsed hard to the floor. I went to help her up, but her body was running hot, just like Sherry's.

_Just hang tight, Alex. I promise I'm going to save you!_

I raced back to the computer monitor to continue reading the report her father had written. It was dated from October to November, 1997.

**Trial # 326**

**October 23, 1997**

**2:41 AM**

**Like all the previous trials, #326 was another epic failure. I have been unable to isolate the natural proteins that cellularly bond the t-Virus with other organisms. Each passing trial shows some promise, but not enough to base much further work. Time is running out. Birkin is surely on the verge of a breakthrough with the new G-Virus he has been working on. If he pushes the new strain to corporate, all of my research will have been for nothing.**

**Trial #327**

**October 24, 1997**

**11:43 PM**

**I think I may be on to something new. Using an experimental, artificial enzyme, I was able to isolate the unique proteins of the t-Virus, but the results have not been desirable. When the virus is merged with the enzyme, the proteins of the t-Virus are destroyed, but only after the organism's DNA has already been mutated. Certain host organisms respond differently to the enzyme-injected virus. None of them have been positive. In order for me to create a stable and safe antivirus, I will need to continue along this path.**

**Trial #335**

**October 31, 1997**

**2:12 AM**

**To think that I would make my final break through on Halloween would normally be funny, but under the stresses I face, is nothing more than sheer irony. Speaking of irony, I've noticed that the Chief of the Raccoon Police Department has been making frequent visits to the facility. I do not yet know why he has been coming here, nor how an imbecile like him could have been granted access. Corporate has made strict rules for all personnel to follow, but Birkin's arrogance is well documented.**

**The test this morning has been quite the find. Using a dead version of the enzyme-injected virus, I have been able to formulate the enzymes in the dead virus in such a way that will be safer to humans, with no ill side effects. I myself have taken the injection myself as way to permanently inoculate myself from any possibility of infection. My instincts tell me Birkin's reckless nature will someday lead to some outbreak and I will take whatever measures necessary to ensure that I will survive.**

**Lab Entry**

**November 2, 1997**

**After more successful trials, the antivirus has been deemed safe enough for use. However, Umbrella has been largely unaware of my research. It is only a matter of time before they realize how many resources I have used over the past six months to conduct my findings. By then, I will have put the antivirus in the hands of the government. I have decided to end my employment with Umbrella, leaving behind a past of darkness where it belongs.**

**My work along side William Birkin is unforgivable. I am as much to blame for the creation of something so deadly as he is. With every grain of knowledge and good will I have remaining, I have used it in an attempt to save lives, rather than destroy them. My daughter, Alexandria, is the only family I have left. If I am to die today, tomorrow, or a month from now, I want to leave behind something for her to be proud of.**

**After all, Alexandria has always been the light in my world of darkness…**

**Lab Entry**

**November 5, 1997**

**That bastard Irons has been showing up even more frequently. What's more, that idiot Birkin has been allowing Irons to view the research on the G-Virus. He's just a filthy pig! What could he possibly know of such science!? Nevertheless, his presence here does nothing but disturb me. I have a feeling that Birkin has discovered what I have been up to.**

**In any case, I will leave the antivirus in the storage locker of the main lab. If anyone were to come across it for use, they must be made knowledgeable of the following:**

**The antivirus will reverse the effects of the t-Virus, but administration must be conducted no more than forty-eight hours after transmission. The t-Virus will have mutated too erratically by any time afterward.**

**Intravenous injection is the only way the antivirus will work. Oral ingestion can be poisonous if the dosage is too high, or too low.**

**The dosage for the antivirus should not exceed seventy-five milligrams, nor should it fall below. As stated before, the agent can be poisonous if taken orally, but failure to comply with the dosage levels may result in unwanted mutations.**

**All though the antivirus will prevent further infections, its long term effects are largely unknown. Unfortunately, I do not have any more time to commit to the research. The antivirus is safe enough as it is, so long as the guidelines are followed.**

**Thomas Alexander Carlsen**

**Senior Research Developer of Umbrella Corp.**

After looking through the notes, the thought occurred to me that Alex must have known about this research from the beginning. How else would she know to come here and look for the notes? Whatever the case was, her father knew that he was living on borrowed time. Umbrella was coming for him, and he wanted to hit them where it hurt most.

Right in their pockets.

**Chapter Thirteen**

I wasn't sure, but my gut told me that Leon was here, and that he was responsible for turning the power to the facility on. I now had access to the lower levels. On my way down, I came across more of those skinless freaks, but for some reason, they seemed different from the ones in the police station. Larger, more agile, and more fearsome, I was able to avoid having direct confrontation with them. When I walked past them, they turned in my general direction, but didn't seem to know where I was when I stopped moving.

That was when it occurred to me that these creatures couldn't see worth a damn. I could save a ton of ammunition by avoiding them completely if the opportunity presented itself.

The lower levels of the research facility were frighteningly quiet. The clack of my boots echoed so loudly that I would alert the creatures. I stepped into a security center, where there were literally hundred of monitors, surveying every inch of the place with unrelenting vigor.

The surrounding area was pretty dark. The only source of light were the monitors, and many of them were showcasing uniform streams of static. Not finding anything of interest, I ignored the screens and continued moving forward.

Up ahead was a doorway that read CENTRAL LABORATORY in bold black text. I stepped through, hit by a wave a concentrated death. There were at least a dozen, badly decomposed bodies, strewn about on the cold metal floor. The lab was enormous. My guess was that it was twice as big as the typical lecture hall. Lined all across the walls was equipment I couldn't even begin to recognize, nor did I know how to operate.

Needless to say, the raw stench of rotting corpses didn't do much to entice a trial an error session, either. I continued moving forward, stepping over corpses on my way towards the back of the lab. A huge machine with an even bigger biohazard logo on it caught my eye. I ran my finger across the processed metal and vinyl, impressed with how new it still felt.

Hundreds of buttons made up the face of the machine, and I hadn't a clue to what they did, or what the machine was even used for. I started to walk around it when I accidentally hit one of the buttons, causing a loud mechanical whir.

Behind me, the wall slid along a set of rails that I didn't notice before, revealing a hidden section of the lab. I stepped inside, wondering to myself what exactly had I walked in on.

Along the walls were hundred of vials, lined up perfectly as if they were the room itself. Each one was about the size of a drinking glass and I also noticed that each section of the room had vials filled with different colored liquids.

To my left were vials filled with a dull green liquid. I reached to pick one up, but a mechanical hand shot up from the ground, almost taking my arm off on its way to the vial. It clamped tightly on the metal tab on the top of it, pulling the vial out. The mechanical hand placed the vial in my waiting hand. Inscribed on the metal tab was t-VIRUS. I looked at the green liquid closer, wondering how the vial's contents destroyed my hometown. I set it back in the mechanical hand and it neatly placed it back in its position.

I moved to the next set of vials. Inside was a slimy, purple gel. The bottom of the tab was marked G-VIRUS. I felt my stomach knot up like a snake inside of me, thinking of how William Birkin injected himself with this stuff, turning him into that horrible monster.

I dropped my hand to my side, clenching my fist tightly. To think that all of these researchers that worked here wasted their genius on developing something that could destroy the world in the blink of an eye.

It was enough to make me want to throw up.

Ignoring the lot of G-Virus vials, the next section was significantly smaller, with one set of vials being blue and other set, white. I'd found the base vaccine for the G-Virus, but something about those words put me off. I wasn't as excited as I should have been. After all, my instincts have never lied to me before.

The blue vials contained the t-Virus vaccine. Attached to each one was some weird syringe that looked like it could kill a shark with one prick. I quickly grabbed one of each and put them inside of the side pack. Getting that embryo out of Sherry was of the upmost importance, but I couldn't let Alex down either.

I just hoped I wasn't too late…

**Chapter Fourteen**

Navigating my way back upstairs was more difficult that I had ever wished to hope. Despite their trodden appearance, all the badly rotted bodies on the floor had somehow stood up. I had stayed in one place too long, and now the zombies were on to me. I had to get back to Alex fast, so I plugged a slug in their brains, dropping them as quickly as I could without allowing them to get too close.

After killing of the horde, I quickly made my way back upstairs, running by a few of those skinless monsters en route. My heart raced in my chest, thinking that they would attack me if I took a false step.

When I returned to the room with the computers, I had found Alex on the floor, on her back. She was extremely pale, her skin clammy and cold.

I shook her a little, but she didn't respond. I quickly pulled out the vial and spotted the small entry point where I was to insert the syringe. I siphoned the antivirus, and then rolled up her sleeve.

_Come on, Alex. Just hold on, okay? You're gonna make it!_

I wiped some of the sweat from the back of my neck as I searched for a vein in her arm. It wasn't too difficult since she was as white as sugar now. Finding a pulse was the problem. Nonetheless, I inserted the syringe into her vein, and pushed the ominous blue liquid into her body.

Nothing happened.

Not that I should have expected anything short of miraculous, but Alex hadn't budged an inch.

Sherry's face popped back to the forefront of my mind. I had to get her the G-Virus vaccine, and fast. I didn't want to leave Alex behind, but if she made a recovery, I'd find out sooner or later. Right now, I had to get back to Sherry…

The moment I stepped out of the computer room, a thunderous rumble knocked me off my feet.

"THE SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM HAS BEEN ACTIVATED. REPEAT. THE SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM HAS BEEN ACTIVATED. THIS SEQUENCE CANNOT BE ABORTED. ALL PERSONNEL PROCEED TO THE EMERGENCY CARS AT THE BOTTOM PLATFORM."

_Self destruct? Who would set this place to blow now?_

Just up ahead was the doorway that would lead me back to Sherry. The moment I stepped through the threshold, I felt something blunt ram against my temple. I hit the floor, dropping my gun. White blindness flooded my eyes as I struggled to regain my focus.

"You!"

That voice was familiar. "Annette? What are you doing? I'm trying to help Sherry!" I said, rubbing at my head.

"I...I thought you were that spy," she muttered.

_Spy? What the hell is she talking about?_

"Where is Sherry?"

"I left her in the security station. I've got to get her this vaccine before it's too late!"

I pulled out the base vaccine and showed it to Annette. She appeared to be unmoved. "That won't work."

I felt like I had been hit in the gut with a cannonball. All the air in my lungs had been sucked out. "What do you mean?'

Annette stepped closer to me. As my vision returned to me, I got a better look at her tired features. Her eyes so dark, they looked to have been drawn on. "This vaccine is incomplete. In order for it to work, you'll need to cycle it through the synthesis machine."

"Synthesis machine? Where is it?"

"It's downstairs in the central lab. The same machine you used to access the base vaccine is also used to create to create the completed version."

_Great…just my fucking luck._

"Is there any other way?"

Annette's eyes dropped to the floor. "I'm afraid not. Because of Umbrella's sudden interference, William and I didn't have enough time to test it. Right now, we've got no other choice. It's the only way to save Sherry. Please, help her!"

"I promise to do what I can, but what are you going to do?"

"Don't worry about me," she said flatly. "I'm not going anywhere."

"But-,"

"Here, take this," she said, handing what looked like an optical disc. "This will allow you to access the high speed train that runs beneath the facility. Use it to get you and Sherry out of here."

A loud roar sliced through the facility air. Annette tightened up at the sound and turned to the adjacent hall. Her face had become stricken with panic. "It's William! You have to hurry! I'll hold him off!"

She took off running before I had a chance to get the words out. Part of me wanted to go after her, but the other half thought against it. After all, what chance did she really have against William's mutated form anyway?

A beat passed, allowing me to gather my thoughts, for only a moment, before turning to head back to the lower levels.

Sherry's life depended on it.

**Chapter Fifteen**

More zombies had begun crowding the lower levels once I got there. Running low on ammo, I literally pushed my way through a whole horde of them, many of which didn't have any clothes on at all. A rather disturbing sight.

Pushing the horrid images of genitalia hitting the ground aimlessly, I made it back to the security station. I walked past the same row of monitors I ignored earlier, until I noticed something move. There was no action the first time around, but something on one of these screens caught my eye. Searching through the plethora of monitors, I recognized a familiar face, in an area of the lab I hadn't been to.

This was the unforeseen break that I needed.

I was relieved to find Leon alive and well, but became worried when I realized that he'd been hurt. His shoulder was nothing but a bloody mess. I wonder what could have happened to him…

Pushing the thought from my mind, I grabbed my radio.

"Leon! Boy, am I glad to see you!"

I saw him look up, searching for my voice as if it were coming from somewhere other than his radio. _"Claire? Where are you?"_

"I'm watching you on one of the cameras," I said. "None of that is important though. I need you to go back and get Sherry!"

_"Sherry?"_ A beat passed. _"Where is she?"_

"I left her in the security office, near the entrance to the lab," I said, swallowing the nervous lump that formed in my throat. I was also thirsty again. "Please, you must hurry!"

A beat passed and I could tell Leon was thinking about what I said. _"Wait! What are you about to do?"_

"I've got some unfinished business to take care of. Don't let me down, Leon. I'm counting on you."

_"Claire! Claire! Wait!"_ Those were the last words of the transmission before I abruptly ended. I didn't have any more time to waste. I had to move quickly.

The synthesizer machine, to my surprise, was pretty easy to use. All I had to do was the set the base down, and it took care of the rest. After ten minutes or so, the vaccine was ready. When the machine produced the new vial, there was a blue gel inside. On the vial were the words DEVIL stamped on the glass.

Not the most fitting of names, given the situation, but they could have named it anything, so long as it cured Sherry.

Down to my last HP magazine, my ammo load was getting lighter, yet the enemies I was facing were becoming much tougher to put down. I just hoped that I could escape with Leon and Sherry before I dried up on firepower.

There was a security kiosk between the central lab and the upper levels. The screen blinked at a steady pace, drawing me closer. INSERT MO DISC flashed across the screen in large red font, continuously. I slipped the disc that Annette gave me into the appropriate slot, and the wall partition behind it opened up. There was a long walkway that led to a sturdy door just up ahead.

The PA announcement of self destruction was still playing loudly through the facility, so there was no time to waste. I opened the door, but almost turned back at the sight.

There were dozens of man-sized capsules, all containing some kind of grotesque organism. Despite myself, I stepped closer to one of them, examining the contents.

Whatever it was, it sure as hell wasn't human. At least not anymore.

Towards the back of the little house of biological horrors was an elevator. I ran for it as fast as I could and hit the call button. The floor reader was at thirty-nine, and I was at level one.

And this elevator seemed slower that quicksand.

Crash!

I snapped my body around at the sudden intrusion. My heart was almost stuck in neutral. The door I had just come through had been ripped off its hinges as if it were made of aluminum foil. The monster that was once William Birkin had broken his way through to me.

In its arm was something I didn't immediately recognize until it thrown on the floor. I covered my mouth to trap the piece of my soul that escaped.

The bloodied and maimed body of Annette Birkin was just thrown in front of me like trash. At this stage, I was certain that William didn't even know that he just brutally murdered his own wife. The mother of his child.

To him, she was nothing more than an obstacle.

Her neck had been twisted so badly, it looked like a wrung out towel, and her torso had been punctured by one of his massive claws. I gulped hard as I looked up at him. I'd be killed for sure before the elevator even made it half way down.

Birkin suddenly charged at me with a ferocious swipe. I moved out of the way as he struck the nearby wall. His claw hand was embedded in the steel beam supporting the elevator frame, all the way down to the "knuckle".

After taking a few steps back, I reached over my shoulder for the grenade launcher. Birkin would just eat up every HP round before I even came close to doing any damage. I lined up the sight on the launcher, aimed, and fired. An explosion of sulfur caused Birkin to roar.

That had probably hurt.

He pulled his claw free from the wall, but I pulled the trigger a little faster this time.

And again…

And again…

After a few shots of acid filled grenades, Birkin collapsed to the ground. Unlike last time though, he didn't stay down.

Something more horrible happened.

His body began to morph into something that wasn't in the same neighborhood as human. Or anything I'd ever seen before. Whatever his "mouth" had become, it was now a cavern full of sword-like teeth, ready to devour anything that moved.

And in a flash, Birkin closed the gap between us. With one aggressive move, Birkin lunged his mouth at me, snatching the grenade launcher from my grasp. Down his mutated gullet it went. I turned to run to the other side to buy some time, but he leaped high into the air and landed on the other side of me, cutting me off.

With my back nearly pinned against a rock and a hard place, Birkin's mutated form effectively had me trapped. I took another look at the floor reader. It was only down to the nineteenth floor. In what seemed like an eternity, Birkin slowly paced himself toward me, a low growl resonating from inside him.

I needed to arm the crossbow, but there just wasn't any room to maneuver. Something shot out from Birkin's body, and I dodged it. When it hit the wall, it melted right through it with ease. If I got hit with one of those, I was surely done for.

Picking myself up off the ground, I jetted behind a row of the giant capsules and hid there for a moment while I loaded the blue bolts into the crossbow. Kendo told me that these bolts would freeze a target on impact, but I needed to see how well it would work, now.

I felt the floor shake beneath my feet. When I looked over to my left, there he was. Birkin was readying himself for another attack, leaping into the air. I pulled the trigger and fired the bolt. It wasn't the best shot, but I still managed to hit him with it. The back end of his body was immediately frozen, and the added weight caused him to violently crash to the ground.

_Oh shit! These things actually work!_

I quickly moved away, not wanting any part of Birkin's body touching me. Even though he was partially frozen, he was still very aggressive. As he continued to advance, I loaded another bolt into the crossbow. With another shot, I targeted the right side of his body, freezing it cold.

The shots were doing their job. Being frozen made Birkin a much easier target, but he still would not go down easy. After loading the third bolt, I took aim on the left side of his body, and fired. Upon hitting him, he shot more of the vile acid at me. It missed me, but it hit the crossbow. I immediately dropped it, watching melt into nothing.

At this point, it didn't matter that Birkin disarmed me. He was frozen to the point where the only part of his body he could move was his head.

"FIVE MINUTES UNTIL DETONATION. REPEAT. FIVE MINUTES UNTIL DETONATION."

The PA announcement came at a good time. With him immobilized, I could make my way out of here. The friendly ping of the elevator let me know that it was finally here. As I moved towards it, I stopped in my tracks.

Alex…

I needed to go back and check on her. I promised her that I would get her out of here, but with only five minutes left, I wouldn't have enough time. A painful decision, but ultimately, I couldn't go back for her. Not now.

_I'm so sorry, Alex._

My heart sunk in my chest. In my consciousness, I knew it wouldn't be the popular decision, but it was the only I could make. I boarded the elevator and hit the button marked TRAIN ACCESS PLATFORM.

**Chapter Sixteen**

The trip down seemed like forever, and the place was already starting to come down around me. The heat from the flames were slowly approaching from the lower level and the entire facility felt like it was going to crumble at any moment.

Once the elevator doors opened, I shot out of there like a bullet, gunning for the next corner. Debris was falling from the ceiling, and I started coughing from the smoke. I heard something move not too far in front of me, but I couldn't see it yet. As I stepped out from the smoke around me, I realized that it was the train. If I didn't move any faster, I was going to miss it.

I approached the platform, trying to find a way to board the moving train, but couldn't find an opening. As the place continued to collapse around me, there was one opening that was quickly approaching.

Leon was there, with an outstretched hand, waiting for me…

"Claire! Hurry!"

Without any time to waste thinking, I ran forward and ran for Leon's hand. With a well timed jump, I took hold of his hand, and he immediately pulled me inside. At the speed we were moving, Leon lost his balance and I ended up hitting the floor of the train, with him crashing on top of me.

The smell of sweat was all over him, but there was something else. Something feminine. Like a hint of cherry blossom…

I looked up into his eyes, and they mirrored the tiredness that I knew were in mine. We managed to survive a hellish nightmare with only but a few seconds to spare. The loud explosions were fleetingly disappearing into the background as I continued to look at him. I didn't know why, but I suddenly had the urge to kiss him.

_Get a grip, Claire. Now's not the time!_

Leon put his hand up, pinching his fingers together, leaving only a smidgeon of room between his fingers. "I was this close to leaving you behind."

I smiled at him. "It was all a part of my plan to keep you waiting until the last possible second."

After a passing beat, Leon looked down and realized just how close our bodies were. Despite the soreness and fatigue, his weight on top of me was pleasant. I felt _safe_…

A feeling that no man outside of my family had given me.

My thigh was pressed up against Leon's side, but I wasn't going to move until he did. "Are you going to let me up now?"

Leon's face frowned awkwardly. It was actually kind f cute. I laughed a little to myself as he peeled himself off me. "Sorry."

I took his hand as he helped me get to my feet. After letting out a breath I'd been holding, my body suddenly tensed again when I remembered what was buried in my pocket. "Where's Sherry?"

Leon suddenly snapped back to reality. "She's in the front train car. What's wrong with her? When I brought her down here, she was burning up!"

I took the G-Vaccine out of my pocket, thankful that it hadn't broken. I looked up at Leon, watching the look of confusion grow on his face. "Shit! I have to administer the semester before the embryo pupates!"

Leaving Leon behind, I quickly took off towards the front of the train. If not for the nature of the situation, I would had reveled at how smoothly the train ran. It was quiet and felt as if it weren't really moving at all.

Stepping into the cart, I found Sherry lying on a small bench. I felt her neck and it was really hot. I started siphoning the G-Vaccine into a syringe when Leon came into the car.

"Claire, is that the G-Virus?"

"No, it's the G-Vaccine," I said, never taking my eyes off the syringe. "I made it in the lab. That's what I needed to take care of before meeting you here."

"Is that stuff-,"

I needed full concentration, and Leon was annoying me with his questions. "Not now, Leon!"

Leon hung his head and disappeared into the cabin. I'd apologize to him later. Right now, I had to administer this vaccine.

Rolling the sleeve on Sherry's arm, I found a much needed vein, and injected her with the G-Vaccine. I had no idea how long it would take to work, but I prayed that I wasn't too late.

After ten minutes, Sherry's temperature was rapidly coming down, but she was still unconscious. I was certain the G-Vaccine was working, but it would take her some time to come to.

I held Sherry tightly in my arms, rubbing my fingers over the threading of the vest I'd given her. If this didn't convince her that it would make her feel safe, I didn't know what would.

Looking towards the cockpit, I readying myself to join Leon up front an apologize for snapping on him. He'd never admit it bothered him, but I was willing to take the high road.

Crash!

The entire train swayed like a leaf in the wind. Sherry slid off the bench, and I dropped down to make sure her head didn't hit the floor. Leon came back into the car, looking at me with wild eyes.

"What the hell was that?" I said.

"I don't know. I think it came from the back. I'll go check it out. Stay here."

He was obviously tired and still in pain. A closer look at his shoulder, and I could see that he'd been shot. Right through the meat.

Disappearing through the door, it locked behind him. I moved to get it open, but it was tightly locked.

Leon slammed his palm against the glass. "Hey, what gives?"

"The door is locked! I can't get it open!"

He punched the glass, frustrated. Unable to get back inside, he continued towards the back.

"Cl...Cl...Claire? Where...where am I?"

I quickly turned around, finding Sherry sitting up, her short blond hair matted to her face, taking first place in godawful styles from Leon. I was just glad she was conscious again.

"Sherry! How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess," she said, rubbing her stomach. "My stomach doesn't hurt anymore."

"That's good. I'm happy to hear that you're feeling better."

The train shook again, and Sherry quickly grabbed my arm. "What was that!?"

"We're not out of woods yet. There are still monsters out to get us. Just stay put. We're almost out of here."

I turned back to look at the door, biting my lip nervously. Leon hadn't returned yet, and Sherry's anxiety was putting me more on edge.

"WARNING! WARNING! BIOHAZARD OUTBREAK DETECTED. SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED. EACH TRAIN CART WILL DETONATE SEQUENTIALLY, STARTING WITH THE REAR CART, IN THREE MINUTES."

_You've got be fucking kidding me!_

Sherry grabbed my hand tightly. I looked down at her, pulled in by the fear in them. That was when I remembered that I had to be strong for her. To make her feel safe.

If what the PA announcement said was true, Leon was in danger. The door leading to the outside suddenly burst open. It was knocked aside with incredible force. Sherry screamed as the monster formerly known as William Birkin made his way inside.

I should have known that being frozen wouldn't have stopped him, but now he was at least five times as large as he was before. Larger than the train cars themselves, it was only a matter of time before he would overtake us.

"Sherry, get back," I said, using my body to shield her.

"Claire, what are we going to do?" Sherry said in a deep panic.

"Don't worry. I'll get us out of this. I promise," I said in my most reassuring voice.

Birkin was moving in closer and Sherry let go of me. I turned back and she buried herself through a small vent. The door to the cockpit was locked, so I couldn't follow.

Beneath my feet, I could feel the draft of the moving train. I looked down, find a small hatch that I could escape through. It was extremely dangerous, but it beat the alternative.

After one last stare down with Birkin, I dropped down through the hatch, grabbing hold of the support beams on the underside of the train. Dragging my tired body under the train, I felt my grip on the beams loosening from the fatigue.

_Leon! Where the hell are you! I can't hold on much longer!_

The train continued to rock back and forth on the tracks, and when I looked back, about eight tentacles with sharp tips, were coming from me. Digging deep, I pulled myself further up as I tried to escape the monster. The burn of fatigue was wearing me out, and I felt that at any moment, I was going to fall off.

I wasn't sure if I was hallucinating, but the train felt as if it were slowing down. Sparks around me started to fly from the metal on metal contact. I closed my eyes to shield them as my grip continued to waver.

As soon as my arms were ready to give out, the train had lulled to a stop. I dropped down onto the tracks, giving myself a moment to catch my breath.

A set of feet dropped down just ahead of me. From the look of the boots, I knew that it was Leon.

"Claire! Claire! Where are you?" he said. His voice cracked, but the intensity of worry was definitely there.

"I'm right here," I said as I rolled out from beneath the train. Despite the closing window of escape, I couldn't help but smile when I saw him and Sherry together.

The sound of metal being crunched and torn made its way to my ears. Birkin's mutation was only getting worse. Becoming larger and more powerful just made him that much harder to kill. We had no chance of beating him now.

"That thing just doesn't ever quit," Leon said.

The light from the exit was just up ahead. I caught the smell of grass and fresh air. My incentive to keep pushing. "Run!"

The three of us took off, our feet thundering loudly against the gravel of the tunnel. Leon scooted Sherry off her feet and carried her in his arms. He was hurt bad, and yet still pushed his pain aside for us. In my eyes, there was nothing "rookie" about Leon.

Birkin's mutated form had all but destroyed the train. His tentacles were growing and coming at us with great speed. We were at the cusp of escape when a booming shockwave flooded the tunnel. I took a moment to look over my shoulder and nothing but a hellbent fireball was coming for us.

The train exploded, taking William with it. If we didn't move any faster, that raging fire would get us, too.

Leon and Sherry made it out and I was only a few paces back. With only a few seconds to spare, I jumped to the ground outside, rolling my way to safety. The fireball rumbled its way out of the tunnel, disappearing into the early morning sky.

We did it. We managed to get the hell out of the worst nightmare in the history of nightmares. I looked over at Leon, who was lying on his back, deep in thought. The anguish of what we all went through clearly evident on his face. With what little strength I had left, I managed to sit up. My ass was sore from all the bumps and falls I'd taken, but so was the rest of my body.

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around my chest, causing me to wince in pain. At first, I thought some B.O.W. had found a way to escape the lab to get to me, but these arms were far too loving and human.

Kissing me on the cheek was Sherry, who looked as relieved as a child could. Her smile was bright and she hugged me tightly. "We did it, Claire. Because of you, we made it out. You kept your promise."

"We did it together. Without you, who knows how things might have turned out."

"I'm really glad we're friends. I know for sure that you will always be there for me. I love you, Claire."

Sherry's eyes watered up, but for the first time, were tears of joy and happiness. She hugged me again, resting her head on my shoulders. I took my tired arm and hugged her back, taken aback by her vow of affection for me.

"I love you, too, Sherry. And I'll always be there for you. That's a promise."

She smiled and remained silent as she wiped her tears. Her eyes then wandered over to Leon, who had been standing with his back turned to us. Judging by his body language, Leon looked to have caught a second wind. I wish I could have said the same.

"Let's go," he calmly said.

I looked at Sherry, whose face mirrored my confusion, before looking back at Leon. "Go? Where? Please don't tell me there's something else following us!"

When Leon turned around, there was an underlying look of determination and resolve in his eyes. The type of look usually reserved for older, more battle tested warriors. Leon was eons ahead of his time.

"Hey, it's up to us to take down Umbrella."

**Chapter Seventeen**

Taking a shower had never felt this good. Even after a week of a zombie-less routine, I still felt the hue of death lingering on my body. To me, even my hair still smelled awful. Leon and Sherry disagreed, but then again, I wasn't about to listen mop top and boy band reject, either.

After running my hand through my hair again, I turned off the water and grabbed my towel. The Lonesdale Inn was a crumby little motel, but it was cheap, clean, and the staff were very pleasant. They had to be if they supplied us with more towels than the three of us would need.

As I was blowdrying my hair, I heard the volume on the TV go up. I opened the door to see Leon sitting on the edge of the bed, with Sherry right beside him. As per his routine, Leon was intently watching the news.

Raccoon City and all of its inhabitants were blown off the face of the earth, courtesy of a corporate coverup by Umbrella to keep the t-Virus outbreak under wraps. The whole thing took an odd turn for us because had we been delayed in escaping, we would have been blown sky high, too.

I put the blowdryer down and stepped out of the bathroom. The motel robe was comfortable, despite how cheap it looked. The feel of the plush carpet between my toes was quite refreshing. I joined Leon and Sherry as they both kept their eyes on the screen.

"Anything new today?" I said as I adjusted the towel on my head.

"The same as it's been for the past week," was Leon's reply. He'd been edgy the first couple of days, but seemed to cool down as of late. I was happy because I hated dealing with him when he was in a cranky mood.

Sherry leaned forward to look across Leon at me. Her face twisted up as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Phew! You still stink, Claire! I think you need another shower!"

"Very funny," I said. "Okay, little miss. It's your turn now."

Sherry rolled off the bed and waltzed her way towards the bathroom. She really was a joy to be around and I decided that she would be better off staying with me, at least for a little while when I returned home.

As she closed the door, I took her place next to Leon. His face had become rugged as it was in dire need of shaving, but his eyes were still warm. The same as it had been when I'd first met him, but he didn't turn to face me.

"Did you tell her yet?" he quietly said.

A beat passed. "No, I haven't. I don't know how to tell her."

"That girl depends on you to keep her safe, but you're not doing her any favors by keeping the truth from her. She's got to know."

It seemed that this was an ongoing discussion with Leon since we left Raccoon City. I wanted to tell Sherry what happened to her parents, but I didn't have the gall. _Brave Claire Redfield, too afraid to spill the beans to a kid,_ I thought.

"I'll tell her when the time is right. Right now, she's still too fragile."

Leon didn't say anything. He just continued looking at the screen blankly. The news program had gone on commercial break, but Leon's eyes weren't focused on the screen.

He was thinking about something.

My guess was that he was thinking about _someone_.

If he wasn't going to tell me, then I wasn't going to press. Everyone dealt with trauma in their own way. Leon would come around, sooner or later.

"Hey, save some of the fudge for me! You're always eating the good parts!"

I'd been wrestling with Sherry, over a banana sundae, for the better part of the past fifteen minutes. It was good to see her in good spirits after everything that had happened. It made me more confident when it was time for me to tell her what happened to her parents. Sherry had a strength one wouldn't normally find in a child, but every day, she shows me a new side of herself. Parts that she probably didn't even know existed.

"Sucks to be you," she said with a sly smile. "You know the rules, Claire. You don't eat fast, you don't eat at all!"

All I could do was frown. I looked over the table at Leon, and for once, he was actually eating. He'd sit and toy with his food as a thousand thoughts rumbled in his head, hardly taking a bite. Today though, he tore into his steak, devouring every last, meaty morsel.

My eyes wandered over to the door when I heard the chime go off. Two men walked in, both of whom I'd never seen before. The first was a black man, who had a body builder's physique and high top haircut. His dark brown eyes gave him that "always about my business" appearance. The other guy was only a l_ittle_ smaller, but just as menacing in the face, if not more. Seemingly chiseled out of stone, the other guy stood by the doorway as the black man approached our table.

"Is this a private party, or can anyone join?" he said. Despite his stoic presence, there wasn't anything frightening about his voice.

Leon turned around, a look of familiarity in his eyes. For the first time in a week, Leon smiled. "Well, I'll be damned."

The stranger looked at both Sherry and I with warm looks before returning his gaze to Leon. "Likewise, Leon. Hey, can we speak in private, please?"

"Sure." Grabbing a napkin off the table, Leon wiped his mouth as he looked over at me. "I'll only be a minute."

I nodded as Leon rose from his seat. He followed the two huge men out of the diner. Sherry had licked the last bit of ice cream from her spoon as she looked in my direction. "Who were those guys, Claire?"

"Friends of Leon, I assume."

I felt her eyes burning a hole through my cheek. "What?" I said.

"You still haven't told him, have you?"

I felt my cheeks flush as her unrelenting eyes wouldn't budge. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm twelve, not dumb! I know you like him, Claire!"

_Holy hell...was I that transparent?_

"I like him," I said, "but not in the way you're thinking."

"Mmhmm. Whatever. Can I get another sundae?"

I looked down at the empty bowl. "Haven't you had enough ice cream for one week?"

"Nope!"

I shook my head, smiling in praise of Sherry's observation skills. I waived the waitress over to bring her another sundae. If history was an indicator of future happenings, Sherry would be a much welcome addition to Redfield family.

**Chapter Eighteen**

Turned out that those two men that met with Leon a few days ago were federal agents. Leon told me that they were recruiting him to come work for the goverment in their quest to fight Umbrella. Of course, Leon agreed to tag on with them. He was very determined to see this through.

I'd arrived back home three days ago, and never would I have thought I'd miss my bed as much as I did. The moment my face hit the pillow, I was sleeping a lot easier. My parents were more than relieved to see me come home after everything they had read and heard regarding the bombing of Raccoon City. Telling them that I didn't find Chris was a downer, but at least they knew he was alive and well.

Sherry had already adjusted well to life with the Refields. My parents took her in with open arms. I pulled a bed down form the attic for Sherry and put in my room. Having her with me put me in a different state of mind. It was a great relationship for both of us. I got a little sister, and Sherry got someone she could depend on that cared about her.

For the first time in her life, Sherry had a _real_ family.

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I was still in bed. Sherry had been downstairs, chatting it up with my parents. My body no longer ached from that fateful night, but the memories were forever engrained in my mind.

Nonetheless, it was a relief to be home, never again taking for granted the pleasures of life and family.

There was a knock on my door, and poking their head through was Lizzy Felton. To say that she was happy to see me was a total understatement once she found out I came back. She had something in her hand, but I didn't take much notice of it. In reality, I was happy to see her too.

She sat at the foot of my bed as I sat up, patting me on the leg. "I'd never seen anyone need so much time to catch up on sleep," she said.

"I think I'll be okay after today," I replied with a smile.

"We haven't really gotten a chance to talk since you've been back, but I am so happy that you're okay. I was so worried that something bad happened to you when I watched the news."

I waved her off, giving her a reassuring smile. "I'm here now. That's all that matters."

"I guess you're right," she said with a shrug. Lizzy moved closer and hugged me tight. I could smell the vibrance of the peach scented shampoo in her hair. "By the way, Sherry's such a doll. I like her!"

"She really is something else, isn't she?"

As Lizzy sat at on my bed, I got a better look at what was in her hand. It was a package. "What's that?" I said.

She looked down at it as if she had forgotten she even had it. "Oh! You're mom said this came for you yesterday. She asked me to give it to you."

Lizzy handed me the package and stood up. "You're mom is also making some apple cobbler, and I want to get it before Sherry eats it all. I'll see you downstairs."

The smell of cobbler was definitely in the air. If I didn't move fast, I wasn't going to get any at all, either. After Lizzy left the room, I examined the package. It was a small box with no return address.

I ripped open the seal, my heart racing expectantly. It had to be Chris, telling me that he was all right. Why else would a package with no return address come here for me?

Once all the wrappings came off, there was a small black box inside. On the cover was the Raccoon Police Department logo. My heart was racing harder now. I opened the box, and inside was a badge, a cassette tape, and smaller sealed envelope underneath them. I removed the contents of the box, placing them on bed one by one. The cassette tape was marked CONFESSION.

I picked the envelope and found a letter, neatly folded, tucked away inside. I unfolded it and glued my eyes to the text.

_Claire,_

_A couple of weeks ago, your life was forever changed. I know exactly how it feels to have a singular event do that. I did everything I could to try to change some of the things that the one event caused, but I failed. However, you have the opportunity to succeed where I did not. You have the power to make things right. All you have to do is not lose focus of the things that really matter. For you, the love of life, of freedom, are paramount. Fight for those things. Don't ever allow those with power to take away from you what makes you tick. Don't ever allow those with money to change you from who you are. Don't ever allow those with influence to debase you and make you less than what you're worth. I'd only known you for a little while before I had a chance to realize that it had been far too late for me…_

_On the cassette is everything you will need to start your march to free the world of the evil that killed Raccoon City. There's no one else I trust more than you to get this right. The badge is a memento that I want you to keep. A reminder that keeps reminding you that you're never down and out. Someway or another, I will find my way back to you, but for now, I need to get myself back in order. To make peace with myself. Thank you Claire. I'm am very happy that I met you._

_Never forget my words._

_Sincerely yours,_

_Officer Alexandria Carlsen_

_Raccoon Police Department_

Words couldn't describe what I had felt. Alex? Alive? But how? How did she manage to escape? There was no conceivable way for her to left Raccoon City alive. But here I had her badge and a note that she left for me. Everything she had left behind was to finish what Leon and I started when we tried to get to the bottom of everything.

To get back to what got me here in the first place.

Finding Chris.

On the back of the letter was another piece of paper that was attached. On it was a map of some training facility, that conveniently, was owned by Umbrella. I didn't know what kind of training was carried out there, but I had to go and find out. Maybe then would I really get to the bottom of this Umbrella mess.

The place was located in Europe, not too far off the coast of France. Based off the small notes, it served as a military prison. If they were holding Chris captive there, I had to go get him out.

I got out of my bed and started getting mentally myself ready for my journey. Raccoon City was gone and lost forever, but the world was still at large, and needed protecting. Umbrella did what they could to cover up the t-Virus outbreak in Raccoon City, but I wouldn't let it go on for much longer. It was time for me to take the fight to them.

Rockfort Island, here I come!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS WAS MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT WRITING FROM A FEMALE'S PERSPECTIVE, SO IT TOOK ME A TAD LONGER TO TO REALLY TRY TO CONVEY THE EMOTIONS ACCORDINGLY. TO ALL THE FEMALE READERS, LET ME KNOW IF I'VE DONE AN ADEQUATE ENOUGH JOB!


End file.
